Kurtley Beale was cleared of one count of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual touching; the 35-year-old was charged in January 2023 and suspended by Rugby Australia with immediate effect; he is now expected to be given the all clear to return to rugby
Friday 9 February 2024 08:21, UK
Australia rugby international Kurtley Beale was found not guilty on Friday of raping a woman in the bathroom of a Sydney pub in 2022.
A jury deliberated for less than two hours following a two-week trial, with the former Wallaby playmaker 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 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.
A teenage prodigy marked out as a future Wallabies fly-half from a young age, Beale has won 95 caps for his country in various different positions since his debut in 2009. He returned to Australia at the end of 2022 and signed with the New South Wales Waratahs after playing for two years in France.
Beale was suspended from all rugby after his arrest and the case cost him the chance of playing at a fourth World Cup for the Wallabies in France last year.
He is expected to be given the all clear to return to rugby after the not-guilty verdict, although his contract with the Waratahs was only for one year and has now expired.
The Wallabies will start a new era under New Zealander Joe Schmidt by hosting two Tests against Wales and one against Georgia in the July international window, ahead of two matches in Augusta against world champions South Africa in the Rugby Championship.
