Rugby union star Kurtley Beale’s sexual assault trial has resumed after being delayed for several days due to an illness among the jury.
Beale, 35, is facing a trial charged with one count of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual touching related to an alleged assault on a woman at a pub in Bondi in December 2022.
The former Wallabies playmaker has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Today, his NSW District Court trial was told the matter would resume after being delayed due to an illness among the jury.
“We’re in a position to proceed,” Judge Graham Turnbull told the court before ordering a short adjournment.
Crown prosecutor Jeff Tunks previously told the trial he expected the complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to speak of her interactions with Beale at the Beach Road Hotel.
She was expected to claim Beale touched her buttocks in the public area of the bar before he allegedly grabbed the back of her head and placed his penis in her mouth inside a cubicle in the men’s bathroom, the court heard.
Beale’s barrister Margaret Cunneen SC told the jury there was no force involved and the defence case was that the complainant consented.
She also urged the jury to consider the woman’s honesty and reliability when she gives evidence.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
