Cop charged with perjury over NRL star Jack de Belin’s rape case could be locked up
EXCLUSIVE
The former police officer charged with perjury over the rape trial of NRL star Jack de Belin could be jailed when he makes his first court appearance on Wednesday.
Shawn Adams was a detective senior officer based in Wollongong, south of Sydney, when he allegedly gave false testimony under oath against de Belin.
Police revealed in May that the 48-year-old had been charged with perjury following a lengthy investigation into De Belin’s rape case at the Wollongong District Court in 2020.
Adams was originally charged with making a false statement under oath, which amounted to perjury, and now a second charge has been added for the same offense.
He is also listed by the prosecution as the subject of an application for detention when he appears in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday.
Adams gave evidence in De Belin’s prosecution after investigating allegations that NRL star and fellow footballer Callan Sinclair raped a 19-year-old Wollongong woman in 2018.
Shawn Adams, the former police officer charged with perjury over the rape trial of NRL star Jack de Belin, could be jailed when he makes his first court appearance on Wednesday. The football player is depicted
De Belin and Sinclair’s first trial in the Wollongong trial ended in a hung jury in November 2020.
At a second trial in Sydney, a jury found the Dragons Forward and Sinclair not guilty of one charge of assaulting the woman in May 2021.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining four charges, prompting the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions not to proceed with a third trial.
Officers attached to the NSW Police Professional Standards Command began an investigation into the conduct of officers involved in the trial under Strike Force Ephemeris.
“After extensive investigations and after receiving advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, police have charged a former Detective Senior Constable with giving false evidence under oath, amounting to perjury,” police said on 3 May.
Shawn Adams was slammed by Judge Andrew Haesler for his conduct during the investigation into allegations that De Belin (pictured with partner Alyce Taylor) raped a 19-year-old Wollongong woman in 2018.
‘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 Sinclair consistently maintained they were innocent of the rape charges and had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Their families have welcomed the action against Adams, with De Belin’s parents and sister expressing their anger at the media and police.
“We are of course disappointed and appalled by the three years that Jack and our family have lost during the entire process,” mother Cathy, father David and sister Erica de Belin wrote in a letter to Nine newspapers.
‘It was an incredibly upsetting and stressful time for us, but we are a close-knit family and we got through it together.
‘We are so proud of Jack. He has a beautiful wife and children, for whom he is incredibly grateful.”
De Belin was sacked by the NRL in February 2019, two months after he was first charged, until the outcome of the court cases and missed two full NRL seasons.