Boys now guilty until proven innocent: Parents speak out after sexual assault case

Newcastle couple Karen and Phil Milner say their family has been to hell and back after their son was labelled a predator and they funded his legal defence to prove he was innocent of sexual assault and choking charges.

Karen and Phillip Milner, who have supported their son Jack Milner in his fight against sexual assault charges, near Wickham Beach in Newcastle. Picture: Adam Yip

A Newcastle couple forced to sell their home to help their son fight sexual assault and choking charges said the “pendulum has swung too far” in favour of alleged victims and lives of innocent young men are being ruined.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Telegraph, Jack Milner’s parents Phil and Karen said they were overcome with relief this week when after enduring a 5-day trial a jury took just under 90 minutes to find their son not guilty of assaulting a woman in an alleyway near a Newcastle bar in November 2022.

Mrs Milner spoke about their two years of hell, having to support their devastated son through the anguish of being charged, labelled a predator, and their family’s reputation in tatters because of intense publicity about the case. Mrs Milner said she shuddered at the thought of how many other young innocent men were locked up in jail because they didn’t have the resources and support to defend themselves.

“We pretty much sacrificed everything. We would give our right arm for our children but if we didn’t have a house to sell to support our son’s defence then he would be languishing in jail waiting for his trial,” Karen said.

Karen and Phil Milnear say the evidence was “so overwhelmingly in support” of their son’s innocence. Picture: Adam Yip

“The evidence was so overwhelming in support of his innocence, we just don’t understand how we could have ended up here in the first place.”

“If we could make a difference, by letting people going through what we have gone through know, they are not alone, then that’s something positive that can come out of all the heartbreak we’ve had.”

The jury heard a 22 year old woman approached 19-year-old Mr Milner, an apprentice mechanic, and asked to borrow his shirt after she was denied entry to the Finnegans nightclub in Darby Street.

When cross examining the woman last week, defence barrister Margaret Cunneen SC said the woman was the one who initiated contact with her client.

“You grabbed him, hugged him, kissed him on the mouth,” she put to the woman.

“No,” she replied. “I wasn’t talking to him, he was speaking to me.”

Ms Cunneen said there was no rape and the woman had “made up this false complaint against Mr Milner”, fearing she would be in trouble for trespassing.

Jack Milner with his mum and dad and barrister Margaret Cunneen SC (left), who says the jury got it right, declaring the 22-year-old not guilty after 90 minutes of deliberations. Picture: Amy Ziniak

Jack Milner was found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in Newcastle after a five day trial.

This week, Ms Cunneen told the Telegraph “the speed with which the jury acquitted this fine and decent young man not only speaks volumes about the paucity of the allegation, but fortifies the community’s confidence that juries are performing their function extremely well”.

Mrs Milner said the prosecution wanted the jury to believe a “quiet, gentle soul turned into a predator for two minutes and then back into the quiet, gentle soul that he was”.

Mr Milner’s dad said the narrative from day one was that his son was a “predator”.

“They put him under surveillance for two weeks before they charged him, they started a strike force, it was massive and yet they found no evidence of him doing anything wrong,” he said.

“Based on the predator narrative he was effectively under house arrest for the first 12 months while we waited for a trial date to be scheduled. We had to go to court six times to have his bail varied. It’s been so tough on him this whole time and the one thing that has always been in our favour is the evidence was clear. He was innocent.”

“And that just makes us think there must be kids in jail, waiting, knowing they are innocent. The time it takes to go through criminal proceedings it’s insane.”

The Milners are thankful there was CCTV footage to use as evidence.

Police were called to Finnegans Hotel on Darby St, Newcastle on November 25, 2022 after reports a woman had allegedly been sexually assaulted nearby. Picture: Google Maps.

“If it wasn’t for that footage and the fact there was no DNA he would have been hung drawn and quartered.”

“The case was based on the word of one person.”

Mrs Milner said it was disappointing that reputations could be destroyed over an allegation, despite a not-guilty verdict.

For Jack, it was some fishing with his mates before going back to work this week, to try to regain some semblance of normality.

For Mr and Mrs Milner, the scars remain – the health issues, the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent clearing their son’s name.

“I just hope that this doesn’t define Jack, that he doesn’t change. He was never a partier, a big drinker, he was the sweetest kid,” she said.

“He was 19 at the time and for a lot of young men who get accused of these things the pendulum has swung too far.”

“Nowadays a girl could simply say, for whatever reason, that something has happened and it’s believed and it feels like others try to make evidence fit what’s been said.”

“We don’t want to speculate about why the complainant said what she said, without knowing that person we have no idea and we are thankful the jury were reasonable and paid attention to detail.”

“We do want people to know this does happen.”

Karen added: “We woke up this morning and a massive cloud has been lifted. It’s a tribute to our friends and family who have always stood by us and Jack and the fact they know the young man that he is, that we were able to stand strong.”

“We wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”

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Originally published as Boys now guilty until proven innocent: Parents speak out after sexual assault case