Embattled premiership player Ricky Olarenshaw back in Bali after brothel raids
Ex-AFL premiership star Ricky Olarenshaw has shocked those close to him with his latest move after fleeing Bali last year amid raids at massage parlours.
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Embattled Bali expat Ricky Olarenshaw has returned to the football field on the popular holiday island after authorities raided X-rated spas and jailed his estranged wife.
The Essendon premiership player, who fled Bali last October amid the raids at massage parlours in Canggu and Seminyak, was all smiles as he was spotted at the weekend at this year’s Bali Masters – the island’s annual AFL tournament.
Olarenshaw had been a fixture of the Bali Geckos football club – Bali’s only Aussie rules team – before the sex scandal that saw his estranged wife and mother of his children Saranitha Olarenshaw jailed for seven months in Kerobokan prison for “providing pornographic services”.
Sources close to the brothels’ operations were shocked to see Olarenshaw last week zipping around Bali on a motorbike ahead of the footy tournament, where he was seen smiling with teammates while holding a beer.
Pictures posted on social media showed Olarenshaw celebrating the Gecko’s under 35s’ win alongside players and team members.
Dozens of Aussie rules teams descend on the island each year for the annual tournament hosted by the Geckos.
As the sex scandal unfolded, Olarenshaw left Bali and had been spotted back in Australia before it was confirmed that Balinese authorities had not issued a warrant for his arrest.
The Herald Sun in March revealed text messages that exposed the inner workings of the brothels, where Olarenshaw was allegedly involved in planning “invite only” parties and providing advice on how to attract more customers.
Saranitha, 36, told a Bali court that Olarenshaw, his brother Darren, and two other Australian men were the owners of the business, claiming that she had been duped into running the Flame spa as a brothel.
But Olarenshaw has maintained that the Flame Spa belonged to Saranitha and has never been charged over the ordeal.
Saranitha was jailed along with Bali bombing survivor Lynley Le Grand, 45, and her husband Michael, 51, a Melbourne couple who were also busted in the raids for offering sexual services at their Pink Palace spa in Seminyak.
A madam who managed the “sensual spas” for Olarenshaw, Saranitha and the Le Grands last month lifted the lid on the X-rated services offered at the illegal venues, telling the Herald Sun the venues offered “sensual body slides”, oral sex and private parties.
The businesses breached Bali’s tough laws on sex work, which describe prostitution as a “crime against decency and morality” and carry up to 12 years in jail.
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Originally published as Embattled premiership player Ricky Olarenshaw back in Bali after brothel raids
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