A promising young rugby player allegedly told an underage girl with whom he had engaged in sex acts to delete their social media posts after her parents found out, a court has heard.
Connor Lind, 23, is due to appear in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court after pleading not guilty to a series of charges and denying sexual acts with two teenage girls.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the former cheerleader had anal, oral and digital sex with a girl who was 14 years old at the time.
He is also said to have put his hand down the same girl’s pants while sitting on the couch in his parents’ home on Sydney’s northern beaches.
The girl was in the eighth or ninth grade of secondary school at the time of the alleged crimes.
Lind has pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual intercourse with a child and one count of intentional sexual contact with a child.
The jury heard that the 14-year-old alleged victim testified that when her parents found out, Lind told her the following words: “We can’t talk, delete these messages.”
During her pre-recorded testimony, played in court Friday, she was told that Lind never asked her to delete those messages.
Connor Lind, 23, is on trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court after pleading not guilty to a series of charges and denying sexual acts with two teenage girls.
“Not true,” said the girl.
During cross-examination by Lind’s lawyer, Lisa-Claire Hutchinson, she was told that she had never engaged in sexual acts with Lind.
She said repeatedly, “Not true.”
“You lied when you told your parents about the sexual acts you and Connor had engaged in,” Ms Hutchinson told the girl.
“Not true,” said the girl.
“You lied when you told police about the sexual acts between you and Connor,” Ms Hutchinson said.
“Not true,” the girl said again.
Lind, who was 19 and 20 years old at the time of the alleged crimes, denies having had sexual contact with either of the girls, the court was told.
He is also said to have put his hand down the pants of another 15-year-old girl while sitting in his car on Dee Why beach.
Lind’s defense denies the allegation and he has pleaded not guilty to the charge of sexual intercourse with a child in relation to the girl.
The jury on Friday also played a police video interview with the second plaintiff, who alleges that Lind put his hand down her pants and touched her vagina without her consent.
The court was told they were sitting in the front seat of Lind’s red Jeep, parked at Dee Why Beach, when he kissed her.
Lind, who was 19 and 20 at the time of the alleged offences, has denied having sexual contact with either of the girls, the court was told.
“It happened so fast, I don’t remember how we ended up kissing, it happened so fast,” she said.
She said she pulled away before he put his hand down the bottom of her shorts and touched her vagina.
“I was really too scared to try to stop it,” the girl said during police questioning.
The girl told police that Lind asked her to pull down her underwear.
When she said no, he said, “I’ll take them off for you,” the girl told officers.
The girl also told the court that he asked her for “just one lick.”
When an officer asked her if she wanted him to put his hand in her panties, she said, “No.”
She told police that there was no conversation between her and Lind in the car about whether she consented to being touched.
She also told officers that he had sent her a photo of his penis on Snapchat before the incident.
The court was told the two girls were good friends and that they were both aware of their allegations.
During cross-examination by Mrs. Hutchinson, she stated that she had discussed with the first alleged victim what she believed had happened in the car with Lind.
She told the court she had given the other girl the “gist” of her accusation but had not gone into detail.
“Did you indicate that you did not agree?” asked Mrs. Hutchinson.
“Yes,” said the girl.
Lind was arrested at Sutherland Police Station in August 2021.
Ms Hutchinson has argued that Lind was a promising rugby player and student at the time and that he had ‘every reason to uphold the law’.
The trial before Judge John Pickering continues.