John Jarratt, Star of 'Wolf Creek,' Charged With Rape

Iconic Australian actor, Play School host and Wolf Creek star John Jarratt has been charged with raping a woman more than 40 years ago.

NSW Police allege that Jarratt sexually assaulted the then 18-year-old at a share house in Randwick, eastern Sydney, during September of 1976. Jarratt was 24 and married at the time, and the victim was living in the house alongside him and his then wife Rosa, as well as three others.

In a report tendered to officers at the Eastern Beaches Police Area Command in December last year, the woman—now 60—claimed that Jarratt entered her bedroom while she slept one night and sexually assaulted her. Fairfax reported that he is also accused of making a sexual advance towards her several months later during a car trip from Sydney to Catherine Hill Bay, on NSW's Central Coast.

Jarratt has previously denied the allegations levelled against him, but on Friday was issued with a Future Court Attendance notice for the offence of rape. He is due to appear in Waverley Local Court on October 10.

The 66-year-old actor is perhaps best known for portraying pig-hunter cum serial-killer Mick Taylor in the Wolf Creek film and web series. Prior to that, Jarratt was a familiar face on Australian screens as host of such family-friendly fare as Play School and Better Homes and Gardens. In 1975 he appeared in the iconic film version of Picnic at Hanging Rock, and starred alongside Mel Gibson in the 77 movie Summer City.

It was whilst driving to a shoot for the latter that Jarratt allegedly made a sexual advance on his accuser.