Kurtley Beale trial: Mother-in-law of woman who accused rugby star of sexual assault tells about their shopping trip days later

Kurtley Beale has pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent

A woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by Wallabies star Kurtley Beale in the bathroom flew interstate hours later to buy wedding dresses, a court has heard.

Beale, 35, faces a jury trial at Sydney’s Downing Center Court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and two charges of sexual touching.

Police allege Mr Beale groped a woman’s buttocks at the Beach Road bar in Bondi on December 17, 2022, before forcing her to perform oral sex in a stall in the men’s toilet.

The jury was told the 29-year-old flew to southeast Queensland the next day to be with the family of her fiancé, who she confided in about the allegations.

At a local cafe, the woman told her future mother-in-law: “Kurtley (Beale) followed me into the toilet and pushed me against the wall and tried to have sex with me”.

In her evidence, the mother-in-law said the woman told her fiancé that “something very strange had happened”, and that he would fly out early to be with her.

The mother-in-law took the woman to a police station in northern NSW, where she made a statement to police. Along the way, she further described the accusation.

“She said, ‘He (Mr. Beale) was angry. I don’t think he would remember… he could barely get up and was squeezing my ass all night,” the mother-in-law said.

The woman later added after leaving: “He tried to put his dick in my mouth”, to which her mother-in-law replied: “Why didn’t you bite the damn thing”.

The jury on Monday heard evidence from four members of the couple’s families about the woman’s initial allegations, including her mother and father.

They described her as “exhausted” and breaking down in tears the morning after the alleged incident, while her father said she was “mentally suffering”.

Her mother indicated that her daughter had claimed that she had been “sexually abused”, and that her first reaction was, “Why are you on the plane? Why did you go?”

Kurtley Beale's alleged victim's mother-in-law - who is not pictured - went shopping with her days later

Kurtley Beale’s alleged victim’s mother-in-law – who is not pictured – went shopping with her days later

“She said she had to leave. She had to deal with what had happened. I was worried that she was gone and had to deal with this without us being there,” the mother said.

Under cross-examination, Mr Beale’s barrister, Margaret Cunneen SC, questioned witnesses about an argument between the woman and her fiancé that week.

Each of the four witnesses denied knowledge of the argument, with her father stating that she was happy when the couple arrived in Sydney the night before.

The four witnesses also gave evidence about the sequence of events that night, including claims contradicting CCTV that the woman entered the men’s room first.

In her testimony, the woman claimed Beale had been “forceful” and “desperate” and had asked for sex before barging in on her in the men’s stable and locking the door.

Under cross-examination, Ms Cunneen suggested to the woman that she was instead the one ‘in control’ of the meeting and had used the accusation to gain sympathy for her fiancé.

The jury also heard evidence from the woman’s fiancée, who spoke about the couple’s relationship, and was also shown CCTV footage during the second week of the trial.

The trial will continue on Monday.