As Wallabies star Kirtley Beale’s grueling two-week sexual assault trial nears its end, a jury has been urged to accept the woman’s ‘defiant’ and ‘frank’ evidence.
Mr Beale, 35, faces a jury trial at Sydney’s Downing Center Court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual contact.
Police allege Mr Beale groped the woman’s buttocks at a Beach Road bar in Bondi on December 17, 2022, and then forcibly performed oral sex on her in the men’s bathroom.
In his closing remarks, Crown prosecutor Jeff Tunks urged the jury to consider the 29-year-old’s case without accepting all of her evidence in court.
“You can believe what the witness says about one thing and not believe it about another, and you can admit you were wrong about one thing,” Mr. Tunks told the jury.
“Giving evidence in these circumstances, it can be assumed that she is presented as someone who is doing her best to present an accurate and truthful version of events.
“Other than that, one might think that she was more or less firmly consistent in her claim that she did not consent to any sexual activity with the defendant.”
Mr Tunks explained in his evidence and cross-examination that the woman had never conceded to claims that she lacked consent and was “defiant”.
“I have no idea what Ms. Cunneen would make of her attitude, but at least she seemed somewhat defiant,” Mr. Tunks said.
“You might think she was presented as a rather cautious and defiant witness in cross-examination. “Maybe she thought about it to the point of being combative.”
Mr Tunks told the jury the burden was on the Crown to prove that Mr Beale knew he did not consent to sexual activity or was reckless about whether he would consent.
In his closing remarks, which began on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Tunks covered aspects of both the Crown’s case and the defense’s case as they were presented in court.
The jury was again shown CCTV footage from that night, which showed Mr Beal placing his hands on the woman’s waist and buttocks.
“What do we see here? He (Mr. Beale) just met her, what does he do? He invites me to touch her,” Mr. Tunks said after showing her video to jurors.
“The Crown case is that he… She was reckless about whether she consented or not and most likely did it anyway. “The fact that he was drunk cannot be taken into account,” he said.
The woman was cross-examined about the status of her relationship with her fiancé, who was present that night and gave evidence.
Under questioning from Mr Beale’s barrister, Margaret Cunneen SC, the woman refuted claims she used the claims to gain ‘sympathy’ from her partner.
The fiancé admitted in court that he had been blunt about text messages the pair had exchanged that day and told Mr Cunen he had been “an idiot”.
“If you have a basis for her to go and have sex with another man because ‘I’m going to show him (the fiancé)’ then that’s up to you,” Mr Tunks told the jury.
Mr Tunks also walked the jury through the story of a woman who first met Mr Beale on the night they were discussing the rugby star’s wedding.
In evidence, the woman claimed Mr Beale was “desperate” and “forceful” when he demanded sex before barging on her in a bathroom cubicle.
She told the jury she repeatedly said “no” to Mr Beale and that he was “married and I was engaged”. The two people were captured on CCTV entering and exiting the bathroom.
Mr Cunen told the court the woman agreed to the meeting to gain sympathy and that he ‘controlled’ it.
During the trial, the jury heard testimony from various witnesses and a secretly recorded phone call in which Mr. Beale admitted he “misjudged the situation.”
The trial is scheduled to continue on Wednesday, with further final submissions from Mr Tunks.
