Sri Lankan batter Danushka Gunathilaka was found not guilty of committing sexual assault stemming from an alleged incident that occurred while he was in Australia to play in the Twenty20 World Cup last year. The 32-year-old was accused of sexual assault in Sydney in November last year and was granted bail after the incident.
However, the Lankan cricketer was granted bail by a magistrate in November 2022. However, Gunathilaka was banned from using Tinder and other social media platforms, as he was facing criminal charges.
As the 32-year-old listened to the verdict on Thursday in Sydney’s Downing Center District Court, Judge Sarah Huggett declared him innocent. He expressed excitement about starting up again after being exonerated.
Judge Huggett found the complainant, who cannot be identified legally, to be a reliable witness who did not willfully present false testimony.
“The evidence establishes that there was no opportunity for the accused to remove the condom during intercourse because that intercourse was continuous.
Defence attorneys cast doubt on the complainant’s veracity during the judge-only trial, asserting that she changed her version of events over time and embellished it to portray Gunathilaka as a belligerent individual.
Two of the woman’s acquaintances testified before Judge Huggett as well, describing her as frail and upset the day after the cricketer visited her home.
When Gunathilaka was detained at the Hyatt Regency hours before the Sri Lankan cricket team was scheduled to depart the country, police first filed four charges against him. Three of those charges were ultimately dismissed by the prosecution.
Gunathilaka always maintained his innocence and entered a plea of not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent.
