SYDNEY: Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka was acquitted of sexual assault after being accused of raping a woman while in Australia.
The 32-year-old batsman was accused of “stealthing” with a 29-year-old woman at her eastern suburbs home in November last year.
He pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and faced a four-day trial before Judge Sarah Huggett in Downing Centre District Court in Sydney.
The case tested new laws criminalizing the act in New South Wales (NSW). Initially, he was charged with multiple counts of rape, but only one count of stealthing – removing a condom without consent – proceeded to trial.
During a four-day trial in a NSW District Court, the complainant – who legally cannot be named – said she had only consented to protected sex. She further alleged Gunathilaka had kissed her “forcefully” and at times choked her so hard she feared for her life.
Outside court, Gunathilaka told reporters the verdict “says everything”. He thanked his lawyers, manager, parents and others in Sri Lanka for their support during the “hard time” over the past 11 months.
“Everyone believed me, so that means a lot to me,” he said, adding that he wants to get his reputation back. I’m happy that my life is normal again, so I can’t wait to go back and play cricket.”
The trial heard Gunathilaka, also known as Danny, and the woman matched on Tinder on October 29 last year. On their November 2 date, they had drinks and dinner and caught a ferry to the complainant’s home, where Gunathilaka recorded her playing guitar and singing.
The complainant, on the other hand, had given two different accounts in her statements to police and did not have a “clear memory” of what happened, the judge found. Huggett said the complainant came across as intelligent and “did not strike me as a witness motivated by a desire to give deliberately false evidence”.
Gunathilaka was arrested in the early hours of November 6 as the Sri Lanka team left for the airport. He was suspended from cricket after his arrest.
He made his international debut in 2015 and has represented Sri Lanka in more than 100 matches including eight Tests. He travelled to Australia for the T20 World Cup but was ruled out with a hamstring tear after playing one match.
