00:01There was little reaction from Carol Jarantowski as the Northern Territory police officer walked
00:09from court cleared of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
00:14In a two-day Supreme Court trial, Mr Jarantowski was accused of pressuring his former partner,
00:20also a police officer, to withdraw an aggravated assault charge.
00:24A series of text messages he sent to his former partner, forming the basis of the case,
00:30in which he told her,
00:31If I lose my job, I'm on the streets, and without you, there is no prosecution.
00:37Another reading, if I get found guilty, I'm out of a job, and no child support for you.
00:42Mr Jarantowski was originally charged with aggravated assault and subject to a domestic violence order
00:49prohibiting abuse, coercive control and intimidation after he threw two t-shirts at his former partner
00:56a few weeks before the messages began.
00:58In his closing address yesterday, Crown Prosecutor Lachlan MacDonald argued the jury could easily infer
01:05that Mr Jarantowski had deliberately sought to frustrate criminal proceedings.
01:10Chief Justice Michael Grant summing up the case, saying,
01:13The Crown's position is effectively that the accused cajoled and coerced the complainant in those communications
01:20in an attempt to compel her to withdraw her complaint.
01:24But defence lawyer Ben Fernandez argued his client had simply been attempting to discuss custody arrangements
01:31with his former partner, describing his communication as nothing more than lawful persuasion.
01:37When he said,
01:45The unanimous verdict was reached in three hours.
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