Policeman Ankit Thangasamy pleads not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent
A constable fighting sexual assault allegations still plans to represent himself instead of enlisting a lawyer, a court has heard. Read the latest.
Police & Courts
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A Greystanes cop has pleaded not guilty to an alleged sexual assault in Sydney’s CBD in December and plans to continue representing himself.
Constable Ankit Thangasamy, 31, entered the plea at Parramatta Local Court on Monday, following a court appearance last month when he said he was not eligible for Legal Aid to fight charges of sexual intercourse without consent.
Legal Aid is available for economically and socially disadvantaged clients.
On Monday, Magistrate Kate Thompson told the court that the matter listed with the Director of Public Prosecutions was a serious offence and encouraged Constable Thangasamy to seek legal assistance.
He told the court he was not eligible for Legal Aid and could not deploy the services of two solicitors after engaging with them.
Magistrate Thompson said: “I appreciate you’ve got a means issue but if you could continue to make inquiries for your own sake.’’
The court had to make inquiries about handing Constable Thangasamy the subpoena because Magistrate Thompson said he was a defendant and “material of this kind usually goes to the legal representative, not the defendant”.
An arraignment was originally scheduled for October 28. However, it was listed for mention on October 13, after the court heard further inquiries had to be undertaken to see if the cop could legally access material.
Magistrate Thompson proposed to adjourn the matter to September 29 but the defendant told the court he could not because of family reasons.
In March, the Central Metropolitan Region cop was charged after an investigation officers from the Professional Standards Command started in December.
The alleged incident occurred on a day in December between 1.53am and 2.05am.
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