Alleged rapist granted bail after court bungle

An alleged rapist who had his conviction quashed due to a court bungle will be released on bail. 

Anthony Cook was jailed for 8.5 years in July last year after being found guilty of six counts of rape.

He has today been granted bail while he awaits a retrial on those charges.

His conviction was quashed yesterday because he didn’t get adequate time to visually inspect the jurors as they were being selected for his trial.

The Court of Appeal found the County Court judge failed to direct the jurors to walk past the accused on their way to the jury box, as is standard practice in Victoria.

Cook’s application for bail was unopposed, and he will be released from custody this morning.

His alleged victim, a single mother, may now have to give evidence for a second time prompting calls for the Andrews Government to tighten laws around jury selection.