- Ex-police officer in Belin’s sexual assault case allegedly lied to the court
A former NSW police officer has been charged with perjury over evidence he gave during the sex abuse trial of NRL star Jack de Belin.
The Director of Public Prosecutions dropped sexual abuse charges against Mr De Belin and his co-accused Callan Sinclair in mid-2021 after two District Court trials that ended in hung juries.
NSW Police said on Friday that a former Detective Senior Constable had been charged with perjury in relation to Mr de Belin’s case at the Wollongong District Court in February 2020.
Jack de Belin was accused of assaulting a woman and faced a court in Sydney. He was acquitted on one count, but the jury could not reach a verdict on other counts
Both Mr De Belin and Mr Sinclair consistently maintained they were innocent of the charges and had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
At a second trial, a jury acquitted the pair of one charge and failed to reach a verdict on five other charges before abandoning plans for a third trial.
In 2021, the NSW Police Professional Standards Command launched an investigation under the umbrella of Strike Force Ephemeris to investigate the conduct of officers in the case.
NSW Police said following advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions, a former Detective Senior Constable had been charged with giving false evidence under oath, amounting to perjury.
The 48-year-old man will appear in Wollongong Local Court on June 19.
NSW Police said the investigation was continuing under the direction of Strike Force Ephemeris.