John Ibrahim and girlfriend Sarah Budge enjoyed a celebratory dinner at a fancy Sydney restaurant after she was found not guilty of gun possession charges.
The Kings Cross nightclub identity and his model girlfriend dined at Rockpool Bar and Grill in the CBD on Wednesday evening.
The couple looked relieved as they entered the swanky establishment, both opting for stylish yet casual looks with jeans.
Mr Ibrahim paired his dark blue jeans with black boots and a navy blazer, while 29-year-old Ms Budge chose a black buttoned blazer.
The model completed her look with a pair of Valentino Garavani Rockstud Heels in patent nude, which retail for about $1,300.
John Ibrahim and girlfriend Sarah Budge enjoyed a celebratory dinner at a fancy Sydney restaurant after she was found not guilty of gun possession charges
The Kings Cross nightclub identity and his model girlfriend ate dinner at Rockpool Bar and Grill in the CBD on Wednesday evening
Mr Ibrahim paired his dark blue jeans with black boots and a navy blazer, while 29-year-old Ms Budge chose a black six-buttoned blazer
The model completed her look with a pair of Valentino Garavani Rockstud Heels in patent nude
Just hours before the dinner, Ms Budge burst into tears at Sydney’s Downing Centre Court as she was found not guilty.
The verdict was an emotional end to a two-year legal ordeal and Ms Budge slumped forward and sighed in relief as the jury handed down their verdict.
It followed a two week trial which included four days of jury deliberations – and the disclosure of her most private communications with her nightclub boss boyfriend.
Ms Budge mouthed ‘thank you’ after the jury filed out of the courtroom at about 4.40pm.
An emotional Ms Budge was later heard saying ‘oh my god’ and exclaimed loudly to one of her lawyers: ‘You never have to see one of my text messages again!’
The saga has been trying for Ms Budge, a model and restaurateur who was not well known prior to her arrest in August 2017.
Sarah Budge pictured with her boyfriend John Ibrahim out for dinner at Rockpool following her successful defence against gun possession charges
The couple look relieved as they were leaving Sydney’s Rockpool Bar and Grill after Ms Budge was cleared of charges
Just hours before the dinner, Ms Budge burst into tears at Sydney’s Downing Centre Court as she was found not guilty
The verdict was an emotional end to a two year legal ordeal and Ms Budge slumped forward and sighed in relief as the jury handed down their verdict
Two years ago, during a raid on Ms Budge’s Double Bay home, Federal police found the handgun in her bedroom wardrobe.
At trial, her lawyer suggested the raids were solely aimed at obtaining a draft of John’s then-forthcoming book, Last King of the Cross.
And in court Ms Budge insisted she did not know how the pistol got there.
She told the jury John kept her in the dark about the details, saying she was in enough trouble already.
Her defence was she didn’t know, and nor could she be expected to know, the gun was there – which the jury clearly accepted on Wednesday.
Ms Budge, dressed in a wraparound Scanlan Theodore shirt, was joined in court by her father, Mark; brother, Jack, and a close female friend, who wept with relief.
Justice has been a long wait. Her trial was delayed earlier this year because her mother, Leone, was terminally ill. The trial also dragged on longer than expected.
At the end of Wednesday’s proceedings, the judge, David Arnott SC, remarked that Ms Budge had ‘very competent legal representation’.
Her partner did not join her at court during the trial.
But, throughout the proceedings, Ms Budge regularly updated her Instagram page with shots of the oceanfront view from his house.
Ms Budge mouthed ‘thank you’ after the jury filed out of the courtroom, about 4.40pm, and the long trial ended (pictured leaving court on Wednesday)
The verdict comes after Budge was found not guilty on two similar charges of possessing gun ammunition and defacing a weapon on Tuesday.
The jury had originally consisted of six men and six women, but their number as reduced to eleven after a juror was discharged on Tuesday.
The juror had booked flights after having been told the trial would take five to seven days.
The jury was presented with raw and, at times, deeply personal details of Ms Budge and Mr Ibrahim’s relationship.
Several months worth of their text message exchanges were tendered in court during the proceedings.
The fact his name was saved on her phone as ‘Sexy John’ was also revealed.
Their relationship was a focus of both the prosecution and defence’s closing arguments.
The verdict comes after Budge was found not guilty on two additional charges of possessing gun ammunition and defacing a weapon on Tuesday
Ms Budge – a model and bar manager – is now free to pursue her career without the weight of the allegations hanging over her head
Budge is represented by Chic’s commercial modelling agency Scoop – and will now have more time to pursue those endeavours
Crown Prosecutor Christopher Taylor told the jury last week that Mr Ibrahim’s alleged failure to disclose how the gun arrived in her apartment ‘undermines everything that a serious relationship is based on.’
Mr Taylor asked the jury: ‘Would you remain in that relationship if you were in that position?’
But Budge’s barrister Simon Buchen SC told the jury Sarah was not on trial for her relationship.
‘You may not respect that, that may not be your ideal relationship, but that is her relationship,’ he said last Thursday.
‘She’s not on trial for having a relationship with Mr Ibrahim … the human heart doesn’t always obey the rules of logic.’
Outside court on Wednesday, Ms Budge would only say she was ‘relieved’.
The jury was presented with raw and, at times, deeply personal details of Ms Budge and Mr Ibrahim’s relationship
Their relationship was a focus of both the prosecution and defence’s closing arguments
John Ibrahim kept away from the Downing Centre District Court while his partner faced trial – but the pair are very much together