John Jarratt reveals he was child rape victim

Actor John Jarratt has revealed he was the victim of rape as a 13 year old while staying at a boarding school.

60 Minutes followed Jarratt in the lead-up to the trial in which a former housemate accused him of rape. The Wolf Creek star, who acknowledged having consenting sex with his accuser, was cleared convincingly after the jury deliberated for just 15 minutes.

“It’s a really terrible thing ­because I am a part of the #MeToo movement too because I was raped when I was 13,” he said.

“The idea of raping somebody is the most shocking thing in the world. I’ve been raped. I know what it’s like.”

Jarratt said his perpetrator was an 18 year old student.

Jarratt also told reporter Tara Brown that media coverage of the trial was imbalanced, failing to report on inconsistencies in his accuser’s evidence.

“Let’s bring down the well-known person, is the name of the game in the media, these days,” he said.

“It’s a very serious allegation and they should be writing the terrible things that she says happened to her, with this rape that didn’t happen. That’s fine I understand that.

“But I should get balanced reporting too. I’m just painted, so far as this black, evil thing that I’m not.”

Jarratt, whose career has stalled since headlines emerged, is now pursuing his own defamation case against Nationwide News, having been named in media reports before being charged.

He wants the law changed to keep trial names suppressed until conviction.

“I happen to be well known which makes it a million times worse,” he said.

“The person who is the perpetrator of an evil lie walks away scot-free with a suppression order. That’s wrong.”

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