Cop charged with perjury over NRL star Jack de Belin’s court case had acted with ‘reckless disregard’ and should have been ‘benched’

The former police officer charged with perjury over NRL star Jack de Belin’s trial has been flogged by a court judge after saying he should have been on the bench.

New South Wales Police have confirmed that a former police officer has been charged with perjury following an extensive investigation into a sexual assault case heard in the Wollongong District Court in February 2020.

Wollongong officer, Detective Senior Constable Shawn Adams, has been charged over evidence he provided during De Belin’s sexual assault trial.

Detective Senior Constable Adams was strongly criticized by Judge Andrew Haesler at the time for his conduct during the investigation.

Judge Haesler said Detective Adams acted with ‘reckless disregard’ in accessing information he was not authorized to see and should have ‘isolated’ himself from the investigation into the alleged rape of a then 19-year-old Wollongong woman .

De Belin was found not guilty of one charge of sexual assault in a Sydney court after a hung jury failed to reach a verdict in the first trial in Wollongong

The Wollongong trial ended with a hung jury, and at a second trial in Sydney a jury found both De Belin and co-accused Callan Sinclair not guilty of one charge of sexual assault against the woman.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining four charges, which is why the Director of Public Prosecutions did not proceed with a third trial.

Detective Adams was subsequently subjected to a disciplinary investigation.

The former Detective Senior Constable was subsequently charged with perjury in connection with De Belin’s case at the Wollongong District Court in February 2020.

“In 2021, officers attached to the Professional Standards Command commenced Strike Force Ephemeris to investigate the conduct of officers involved in the litigation,” the NSW Police media statement said.

“After extensive investigations and advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, police have charged a former Detective Senior Constable with giving false testimony under oath, amounting to perjury.

‘The 48-year-old man was issued a future court summons to appear at Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday 19 June 2024. The investigation under Strike Force Ephemeris continues.”

Both De Belin and co-suspect Callan Sinclair [pictured] have maintained their innocence

Both De Belin and Sinclair consistently maintained they were innocent of the charges and had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The parents of De Belin and Sinclair previously expressed their anger about the long delays in the internal investigation after two high-profile trials.

“This is not good enough, our lives are on hold,” De Belin’s mother Cathy said at the time.

After the trials, the men’s families decided to come together for a discussion, firmly believing that the police were targeting their sons.

Ms. de Belin shared her belief that her son was never given a fair chance in court.

“The most serious campaign was aimed at imprisoning two innocent men, one of whom made only a moral lapse,” she said at the time.