- Former police officer in De Belin sexual assault trial allegedly lied to court
A former New South Wales police officer has been charged with perjury over evidence he gave during NRL star Jack de Belin’s sexual assault trial.
In mid-2021, the Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew sexual assault charges against Mr de Belin and his co-accused Callan Sinclair following two District Court trials that ended in hung juries.
New South Wales Police said on Friday that a former senior police detective had been charged with perjury in relation to Mr de Belin’s case in the Wollongong District Court in February 2020.
Jack de Belin was charged with sexual assault of a woman and appeared in a Sydney court. He was acquitted of one charge and the jury could not reach a verdict on others.
Both Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair consistently maintained that they were innocent of the allegations and had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
During a second trial, a jury acquitted both of one charge and was unable to reach a verdict on five other charges, before plans for a third trial were abandoned.
In 2021, the New South Wales Police Professional Standards Command launched an investigation under the umbrella of Strike Force Ephemeris to investigate the conduct of officers in the case.
NSW Police said that after receiving advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions, a former police detective had been charged with giving false evidence under oath amounting to perjury.
The 48-year-old will appear at Wollongong Local Court on June 19.
New South Wales Police said investigations under Strike Force Ephemeris were continuing.