Sri Lankan international cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been found not guilty of sexual assault by a Sydney judge who said the evidence established there was “no opportunity” for him to have removed a condom during sex, and that he was truthful in his police interview.
The 32-year-old batsman was accused of “stealthing” during sex with a 29-year-old woman without her knowledge in her eastern suburbs home on November 2, 2022. He pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and faced a four-day trial before Judge Sarah Huggett in Downing Centre District Court
Huggett found that the alleged victim, who cannot be legally named, was an intelligent witness who did not deliberately give false evidence but was motivated by a desire to paint the cricketer in an unfavourable light.
"I find that the evidence regarding the complaint far from supports the complainant. Rather it undermines the reliability of her evidence," she said.
------ Post added on Sep 28, 2023 at 8:01 AM
During the judge-alone trial, defence lawyers attacked the credibility of the complainant, claiming her story shifted over time and that she edited her version of events to paint Gunathilaka as an aggressive person.
Huggett also heard evidence from two of the woman's friends who described her as fragile and distraught the day after the cricketer attended her home
------ Post added on Sep 28, 2023 at 8:03 AM
------ Post added on Sep 28, 2023 at 8:04 AM
The 32-year-old batsman was accused of “stealthing” during sex with a 29-year-old woman without her knowledge in her eastern suburbs home on November 2, 2022. He pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and faced a four-day trial before Judge Sarah Huggett in Downing Centre District Court
Huggett found that the alleged victim, who cannot be legally named, was an intelligent witness who did not deliberately give false evidence but was motivated by a desire to paint the cricketer in an unfavourable light.
"I find that the evidence regarding the complaint far from supports the complainant. Rather it undermines the reliability of her evidence," she said.
------ Post added on Sep 28, 2023 at 8:01 AM
During the judge-alone trial, defence lawyers attacked the credibility of the complainant, claiming her story shifted over time and that she edited her version of events to paint Gunathilaka as an aggressive person.
Huggett also heard evidence from two of the woman's friends who described her as fragile and distraught the day after the cricketer attended her home
------ Post added on Sep 28, 2023 at 8:03 AM
------ Post added on Sep 28, 2023 at 8:04 AM
