Hairdresser not guilty of raping three teen clients

An elderly hairdresser has walked from court an innocent man after being acquitted of historic rape charges involving three alleged teenage victims.

Emilio D'Aguanno, 80, had been accused of sexually assaulting three teen clients on separate occasions between 1977 and 1991.

Crown prosecutors alleged he raped an 18-year-old between 1977 and 1979 and a 15-year-old in 1984 at a studio above his Rose Bay salon.

D'Aguanno denied claims he sexually assaulted the 15-year-old, saying while he did sleep with her, she had wanted to and that this did not occur until after her 16th birthday.

He was also accused of raping a third woman, aged 17 or 18, at his apartment in Rushcutters Bay sometime in 1989 and 1991.

D'Aguanno migrated to Australia from Italy in 1969, opening his hairdressing studio, Emilio, in the affluent Sydney suburb of Rose Bay and later the historic Queen Victoria Building.

He faced a retrial in November after the jury failed to reach a verdict at his first trial.

On Thursday, jurors found him not guilty of three counts of sexual assault, one count of rape and an alternative count of carnal knowledge.

During the first trial, D'Aguanno's defence barrister said the hairdresser had an active sex life, occasionally including with clients, but the acts were always consensual.

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