NSW Police officer Ankit Thangasamy found not guilty of sexual assault

A jury has found a senior constable not guilty of sexual assault following a three-week trial in which he represented himself against allegations he raped a woman inside a toilet cubicle.

Ankit Thangasamy arrives at court at the beginning of his trial. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

A senior police officer has been acquitted of rape after a three-week trial in which he defended himself against the allegation he sexually assaulted a woman in a toilet cubicle of a Haymarket bar.

At Sydney District Court on Thursday, the jury found Thangasamy not guilty of one count of sexual intercourse without consent a day after he told the jury the woman had “spun a web of destructive lies’’ and provided unreliable evidence.

The 32-year-old South Sydney Police Area Command Senior Constable was accused of having sex with a woman in the cubicle in the early hours of December 17, 2021.

The jury heard how the married father and the woman had consensual oral sex in the stall after they were dancing and kissing at the venue before they made their way to the women’s bathroom following “really enthusiastic” consent.

The woman accused him of rape when she claimed he failed to stop when she told him she did not want to have sex because she was on her period and was wearing a tampon.

Ankit Thangasamy has been acquitted of sexual assault. Picture: Damian Shaw

Thangasamy, a former Holroyd SES volunteer, said they never had penetrative sex because of the difficult position they were in inside the cubicle.

This week he told the jury the woman lied when she denied removing her own underwear. Thangasamy said she also gave a false account about him picking her up and twisting her around inside the stall.

A security guard who followed them into the stall also gave evidence he saw the woman remove her underwear.

The court heard the woman told the police officer who recorded her first statement: “I don’t know if he had sex with me or not.’’

The jury heard the woman consumed 10 schooners that night and Thangasamy had several drinks including a rum and Coke, beers, vodka Red Bulls and two Lord Nelsons.

The prosecution did not allege the woman was too intoxicated to provide consent.

During his closing address to the court, Thangasamy said he was pathetic and regretted his actions, but was not guilty of sexual assault.

“You might with very good reason view me with disgust, but whatever your verdict, I ask you to come to that verdict on the basis of the evidence and not whatever view you might have about me as a person,’’ he said.

Thangasamy stood silently as the verdict was delivered while his wife buried her head in her hands in relief.

Judge Craig Smith thanked the jury for its diligence during the sensitive trial.