- Danushka Gunathilaka accused of removing a condom while having intercourse with the victim
- On Monday, he was denied bail after police claimed he poses a flight risk
- The 29-year-old complainant, who cannot be identified
According to court documents, a Sri Lankan cricketer who is accused of raping a lady while she was in Australia for the T20 World Cup choked her so hard that she was left “fearing for her life.”
In addition to being charged with four charges of rape on Sunday, Danushka Gunathilaka, 31, is also accused of removing a condom while having intercourse with the victim.
In a police interview, the batter denied using violence or violating the other person’s consent.
On Monday, he was denied bail after police claimed he poses a flight risk.
On Wednesday, a court suppression order was removed, allowing the publication of the records that the police had used to challenge his release.
The 29-year-old complainant, who cannot be identified, and Mr. Gunathilaka matched on Tinder on October 29, according to police information provided to the court.
The documents state that they agreed to meet up in Sydney on November 2 and go out for drinks and dinner before coming back to the complainant’s home.
There, Mr. Gunathilaka is charged with having “forceful” sex with the woman, choking her three times, the third time for up to 30 seconds.
Police claim in court documents that the plaintiff “was afraid for her life and could not get away from the accused.”
The records claim that despite asking Mr. Gunathilaka to wear a condom during the alleged assaults, the woman found one on the ground.
According to the police, the victim was “clear” that she didn’t consent to either intercourse with choking or sex without a condom.
The complainant told two acquaintances what had happened the following day, spoke with a counselling agency, and visited her doctor before calling the police, according to the police.
Then, they claim, she underwent a forensic sexual assault investigation at the hospital and a brain scan to look for any damage brought on by the claimed repeated choking.
In a police interview that is described in court documents, Mr. Gunathilaka claimed that there had been no violence and that the sex had been consensual. However, when investigators questioned him, he said he could not remember any conversations with the complainant about consent.
In New South Wales (NSW), where the claimed incident took place, new “affirmative consent” regulations require someone to speak or do something to signal their consent for sex.
The changes, which took effect in June, also made “stealthing,” or taking a condom without permission, a crime of sexual assault.
Mr. Gunathilaka has been banned from all forms of the game by Sri Lanka Cricket, and the organisation has also formed its own panel to look into the matter.
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