Former Wallaby playmaker Kurtley Beale cleared of rape charges after 2-week trial
FILE - Australia’s Kurtley Beale flies through the air to score a try against New Zealand during their rugby union test match in Sydney on Aug. 19, 2017. Former Australia rugby international Beale was found not guilty Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, of raping a woman in the bathroom of a Sydney pub after a jury deliberated for less than two hours following a two-week trial. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
SYDNEY (AP) — Former Australia rugby international Kurtley Beale was found not guilty Friday of raping a woman in the bathroom of a Sydney pub after a jury deliberated for less than two hours following a two-week trial.
The former Wallaby playmaker was cleared of one count of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual touching. The verdicts were handed down in the New South Wales District Court, prompting tears and sighs of relief from those present to support Beale, including his wife Maddi.
Beale, who was seated in the dock as the verdicts were delivered hung his head in an apparent show of relief.
Speaking outside the court, the 35-year-old Beale said the allegations had taken a major toll on him and his family.
“I’ve always maintained my innocence,” said Beale, who played 95 test matches for Australia. “My family and I have suffered a terrible year and I’m so glad that the truth has come out.”
Beale was charged in January 2023 after the woman told police he had sexually abused her in a toilet cubicle at Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel the previous month.
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