Sri Lanka batter Danushka Gunathilaka found not guilty in sexual assault case

Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka was accused of sexually assaulting a Tinder date through the act of ‘stealthing’ in November 2022. However, he was found not guilty of the charge by Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on September 28.

The woman and the 32-year-old cricketer were matched on the dating app last year, and they went out for drinks at Opera Bar before having pizza in the Sydney CBD and then went to her house in the eastern suburbs. The woman accused the cricketers of slapping her on the buttocks, forcefully kissing her, bruising her lips, and choking her during sex.

The police had detained the cricketer at the Hyatt Regency before the Sri Lankan cricket team was scheduled to depart the country. Notably, three of those counts were further dismissed by the prosecution and only the case of stealthing made it to trial. 

The cricketer, who has insisted on his innocence throughout the hearing, issued a not guilty plea to a charge of engaging in sexual activity without consent that was related to his alleged “stealthing.” Defense counsel questioned the complainant’s veracity throughout the judge-only trial, asserting that she changed her version of events over time in order to portray him as an aggressive person.

“The evidence establishes that there was no opportunity for the accused to remove the condom during intercourse because that intercourse was continuous,” said Judge Sarah Huggett in handing down the verdict as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Judge Huggett noted that the alleged victim, who cannot be legally named, was an intelligent witness who was driven by a desire to cast doubt on the cricketer rather than intentionally giving false testimony.

“I find that the evidence regarding the complaint far from supports the complainant. Rather it undermines the reliability of her evidence,” the judge said.

In addition, Gunathilaka remained free on bail during the trial but was prevented from playing in international cricket or returning to Colombo.