Lawyers representing Wallabies star Kurtley Beale say CCTV footage from the night of an alleged assault is ‘contrary’ to some of the alleged victim’s claims.
Beale, 35, pleaded not guilty at the local court at Sydney’s Downing Center late last year to sexual intercourse without consent and two charges of sexual touching.
Police allege the former NSW Waratahs star forced a 28-year-old woman to perform oral sex on him in the toilets of Bondi’s Beach Road bar on December 18, 2022.
Beale also allegedly previously sexually touched the woman minutes before midnight on December 17 while sitting at the bar, which police say was not consented to.
Lawyer Margaret Cunneen SC told the jury during the empanelment on Monday that they should keep an open mind, despite Beale’s status as a sports star.
Kurtley Beale (pictured), 35, pleaded not guilty at Sydney Local Court at Downing Center late last year to sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual touching at the Beach Road bar in Bondi (pictured below)
‘There are people in the community who hear an accusation against a man… and think: he’s a sportsman, he must have done it. He is guilty,” she said.
‘We need people who can act as judges for a while and decide this case based solely on the evidence, not because they have formed opinions about other men in other cases.
“A decision in this case must be made based on the evidence, not on thoughts about what happened to other athletes or other men.”
Ms Cunneen told the jury that CCTV footage from the bar, which is expected to be shown to the jury, was ‘contrary’ to some of the woman’s claims.
Beale arrives at court on Monday with his wife Maddi
“We have evidence that the woman making these allegations followed Mr Beale to the toilet and not the other way around,” Ms Cunneen told the court.
“There are two cases: we need people with an open mind, we just ask that you keep an open mind until all the evidence is in this process.”
Crown prosecutor Jeff Tunks told jurors that Beale “placed his penis in the woman’s mouth while he was in the stall of the men’s room.”
Of 54 potential jurors, 12 were selected for the trial before Judge Graham Turnbull at the Sydney District Court. Among them are seven women and five men.