- Police have confirmed that an officer has been charged
- He faces charges for evidence provided during court proceedings
- Sexual assault charges against De Belin and Sinclair dropped
The former police officer accused of perjury in NRL star Jack de Belin’s court case has been flogged by a District Court judge, saying he should have been benched.
New South Wales Police have confirmed that a former police officer has been charged with perjury following an extensive investigation into a sexual assault case heard in the Wollongong District Court in February 2020.
Wollongong police officer Senior Detective Shawn Adams has been charged over evidence he provided during De Belin’s sexual assault trial.
Senior Detective Adams was heavily criticized by Judge Andrew Haesler for his conduct of the investigation at the time.
Judge Haesler said Detective Adams acted with “reckless disregard” by accessing information he had no right to see and should have been “excluded” from the investigation into the alleged rape of a then 19-year-old Wollongong woman.
Jack de Belin was dropped from his NRL club, St George Illawarra, during the course of his two court cases.
De Belin was found not guilty of a charge of sexual assault in a Sydney court after a hung jury failed to reach a verdict in Wollongong’s first court case.
The Wollongong trial ended with a hung jury, and in a second trial in Sydney, a jury found both De Belin and co-accused Callan Sinclair not guilty of one count of sexual assault against the woman.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the four remaining charges, leading the Director of Public Prosecutions not to proceed with a third trial.
Detective Adams was then subject to a disciplinary investigation.
The former senior police detective was then charged with perjury in relation to De Belin’s case in the Wollongong District Court in February 2020.
“In 2021, officers attached to the Professional Standards Command began the Strike Force Ephemeris to investigate the conduct of officers involved in the court case,” reads the NSW Police press release.
‘Following extensive investigations and advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, police have charged a former police detective with providing false evidence under oath amounting to perjury.
“The 48-year-old man was given a future court attendance notice to appear at Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. Investigations under the Strike Force Ephemeris continue.”
![Both Belin and co-defendant Callan Sinclair [pictured] They have maintained their innocence](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1714788927_599_The-police-officer-accused-of-perjury-in-NRL-star-Jack.jpg "The police officer accused of perjury in NRL star Jack de Belin's court case had acted with \"reckless disregard\" and should have been \"imprisoned\". 9")
Both Belin and co-defendant Callan Sinclair [pictured] They have maintained their innocence
Both de Belin and Sinclair consistently maintained that they were innocent of the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The parents of De Belin and Sinclair previously expressed anger at long delays in the internal investigation following two high-profile trials.
“This is not good enough, our lives are on hold,” De Belin’s mother Cathy said at the time.
After the trials, the men’s families decided to meet to talk, firmly believing that the police were targeting their children.
Mrs. de Belin shared her belief that her son was never given a fair chance in court.
“The toughest campaign was to imprison two innocent men, one of whom only made a moral mistake,” he said at the time.