Cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been found not guilty of non-consensual sexual intercourse. Following an alleged ‘stealthing’ associated with a Tinder date in Sydney, Gunathilaka was arrested in November while in Australia for the T-20 World Cup.
The pair had online contact for several days prior to their meeting. The cricketer had dinner with the woman before being invited to her home in the Eastern suburbs.
The Crown’s case claimed that the condom had been removed by Gunathilaka during intercourse without the woman’s knowledge or consent.
According to the complainant, she did not see the batsman remove the condom, but saw it on the floor after the intercourse stopped. However, Judge Sarah Huggett found evidence which undermined the woman’s claim.
The judge recounted the woman’s two statements, the second, provided in April delved deeper into the issue of stealthing.
According to Hugget, because the woman did not have a “clear memory” of what happened around the time she saw the condom on the floor, “the evidence establishes there was no opportunity for the accused to remove the condom during the intercourse because that intercourse was continuous”.
Mr Gunathilaka’s defence counsel claimed that the woman lied and gave self-serving evidence, providing a “narrative” which morphed over time. Crown “failed to establish woman’s reliability”.
The woman had previously alleged that the batsman kissed her “forcefully” on their way home. Once they were on the couch, she allegedly felt “ambushed” before moving into the bedroom.
Murugan Thangaraj SC stated that this was the case, as there were inconsistencies and implausibilities in her recount. According to Thangaraj, it was “completely illogical” to claim that she felt ambushed before setting her bedroom up for a “a romantic sexual liaison”.
According to his police interview which was played in the courtroom, Mr Gunathilaka had stated that he told her that his preference was generally to not use condoms, but continued with the night as it was their first meeting.
During the interview, the cricketer had mentioned the use of two condoms due to the malfunction of the first. The Crown argued that this was a deliberate mistruth. However, Judge Huggett disagreed, stating that the batsman’s answers were a result of “confusion, fatigue, a language barrier and possibly memory”.
“I formed the distinct impression he was doing his best to be truthful and assist the police,” she said.
Mr Gunathilaka told the police that the woman had organised him a taxi and he kissed her before leaving. “She didn’t even text me, I didn’t text her also,” he said.
Mr Gunathilaka has been in Australia on bail since mid-November.
Outside court, Mr Gunathilaka said the verdict “says everything” and that his reputation had been restored.
Since mid-November, Gunathilaka has been on bail in Australia.
Outside court, the cricketer thanked his lawyers, manager and his friends and family back in Sri Lanka, saying “everyone believed me, so that means a lot to me”.
Source: ABC News
