Luke John Merryfull, Shaun Phillip Bloomfield: Men accused of raping woman at Hamilton party

A jury has been discharged in the trial of two men charged with rape after a juror conducted their own investigation into the alleged Balmoral assault.

Luke Merryfull and Shaun Bloomfield (right) were being trialled over allegations they raped a woman at a party near Hamilton.

A Victorian County Court jury has been discharged in the trial of two men charged with rape after a juror conducted their own investigation into the alleged Balmoral assault.

Shaun Bloomfield and Geelong man Luke John Merryfull were on trial for the alleged assault of a woman at a 21st birthday party at Balmoral, north of Hamilton, in April 2016.

They are accused of taking turns to rape a woman.

But on Thursday Judge Mark Dean stood down the jury after a juror wrote a note to him asking if the light was on in the caravan where the alleged rape took place.

The court also heard a juror went outside at 4.30am on Thursday morning with a flashlight to see if they could see inside their property.

Judge Dean said he had told the jury on the opening day of the trial not to conduct their own private investigation.

“If the two young men were found guilty, the Court of Appeal would overturn the conviction I believe,” Judge Dean said on Thursday.

The trial has been miscarried three times – once when sentences were overturned and another due to Covid-19.

“It’s a major impact on the community, the mother of the complaintaint, the complainant herself, the defendants and the defendants’ family, this in my view is highly regrettable” Mr Dean said.

On Wednesday Crown Prosecutor David Cordy said the trial wasn’t to prove beyond reasonable doubt whether intercourse took place, but whether or not it was consensual.

The retrial is set for August 8 in Melbourne.