Kurtley Beale cleared on rape charge after 2 hours of jury deliberation
Over two weeks, a trial has heard graphic and intimate details of the night Kurtley Beale was accused of raping a woman in the bathroom of a Sydney pub.
In the end, it took a jury two hours to find the rugby star not guilty of all charges.
The former Wallaby playmaker was cleared of one count of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual touching.
The verdicts, handed down in the NSW District Court on Friday, prompted tears and sighs of relief from those present to support Beale, including his wife Maddi.
Beale, who was seated in the dock as the verdicts were delivered hung his head in an apparent show of relief.
Speaking outside the court, the 35-year-old said the allegations had taken a major toll on him and his family.
“I’ve always maintained my innocence,” Beale told reporters.
“My family and I have suffered a terrible year and I’m so glad that the truth has come out.”
Beale’s lawyer, Margaret Cunneen SC, said justice was done with the decision.
The rugby international was charged in January 2023 after the woman told police he touched her buttocks and forced her to perform oral sex in a toilet cubicle at Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel the previous month.
But the jury rejected the woman’s account that Beale followed her into the cubicle of the men’s toilet, removed his penis from his pants and forced it into her mouth.
A secretly recorded phone call captured the moment the woman confronted Beale with the allegations, prompting him to apologise, saying he had “misread the situation”.
“I’m so sorry I made you feel like this I misjudged the whole situation,” Beale said.
“Now I’m f***ing nervous.”
Ms Cunneen told the jury detectives had believed Beale’s response to be “game, set and match” in proving his guilt.
But, she said, on the contrary it showed Beale had been under the belief his interaction with the woman was consensual.
During the trial, Ms Cunneen labelled the alleged victim “manipulative” and asserted she had concocted the alleged rape as a way of gaining sympathy from her fiance.
Crown prosecutor Jeff Tunks invited the jury to accept the woman’s version of events that Beale engaged sexually with her despite her repeatedly telling him “no”.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said during the trial she was using the men’s toilets to avoid queues at the women’s when Beale entered and locked the cubicle.
She said she looked up to see Beale holding his penis and shaking it up and down while saying “suck my dick”, to which she replied “no” over and over.
Beale is expected to apply for costs to help cover his legal expenses. (Duncan Murray/AAP PHOTOS)
The woman claimed the rugby star then grabbed her head and thrust his penis forcefully into her mouth.
One of the charges of sexual touching – rejected by the jury – was an allegation that Beale placed his hands on the woman’s hips while they were still in the cubicle and turned her around while saying, “Come on, let’s f***.”
The other sexual touching charge, on which Beale was also found not guilty, asserted he touched the woman on the backside before the pair were in the cubicle together.
The woman said she was with friends and her fiance at the venue when she felt a hand move down her buttocks onto “bare skin”.
“I turn around and realise it’s Mr Beale,” she told the jury.
Crown prosecutor Jeff Tunks conceded there were inconsistencies in the version of events the woman gave to family members and police.
However, he asked them to consider how she was acting and whether that was consistent with someone who had been the victim of a sexual assault.
“It’s clear that she gives different accounts, different aspects, to different people,” Mr Tunks told the jury.
“Unlawful sexual contact may affect people in different ways.”
Beale is expected to apply for costs to help cover his legal expenses.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Comments on RugbyPass
Yes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to comments