Sexual assault verdict looms for star Sri Lankan batter

Miklos Bolza | September 28, 2023

A Sri Lankan international batter accused in a sexual abuse scandal will soon find out whether he will be convicted of raping a Tinder date through the act of “stealthing”.

Danushka Gunathilaka faced a judge-alone trial in which he was accused of various acts of aggression and violence against a Sydney woman he matched with on the dating app.

The pair met for drinks at Opera Bar in November 2022 before going to the woman’s eastern suburbs home.

The woman, who cannot be legally identified, claims the cricketer slapped her on the buttocks, forcefully kissed her and bruised her lips, and choked her during sex after their date.

Police initially brought four charges against the 32-year-old, who was arrested at the Hyatt Regency hours before the Sri Lankan cricket team was due to fly out of the country.

Prosecutors later dropped three of those charges and he pleaded not guilty to the remaining charge of sexual intercourse without consent.

It relates to the cricketer’s alleged “stealthing”, or removing his condom during sex without the woman’s consent.

Defence lawyers attacked the credibility of the complainant, claiming her story shifted over time and that she edited her version of events to paint Gunathilaka as an aggressive person.

But Judge Sarah Huggett, who will deliver her verdict on Thursday, also heard evidence from two of the woman’s friends who described her as fragile and distraught the day after the cricketer attended her home.

Police officers who spoke to the woman were also grilled about the way they handled the case, including omitting crucial details, throwing out notes and potentially contaminating witnesses.

Gunathilaka has been on bail during the trial but has been unable to play international cricket or return to his hometown of Colombo.