Jordan De Goey’s ‘forcible touching’ charge dropped after team mates rally around him
There have been changes to the serious assault charges against Collingwood superstar Jordan De Goey after he was arrested at a a New York nightclub.
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The more serious charges against Collingwood superstar Jordan De Goey relating to an ugly incident in a New York nightclub have now been dropped.
The Collingwood midfielder had been charged with forcibly touching a 35-year-old woman in her “private areas” as she danced at a rooftop bar during a Halloween party.
A criminal complaint seen by News Corp from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office on Tuesday did not contain the details of the charges related to forcible touching.
When a 37-year-old male friend of the woman attempted to push de Goey away he was allegedly punched “with a closed fist” and kicked by the AFL player.
A second man with De Goey, Australian tattoo artist Luke Dyson, also allegedly assaulted the man with a glass to the face.
It is not clear what has led to this but it could be the woman no longer wanted to pursue the matter.
The new developmeny comes as De Goey is using the high-powered New York law firm that represented Harvey Weinstein in his assault case in New York.
The 25-year-old footy star, who is charged with groping a woman, walked free on bail, as more details of the alleged misdemeanour emerged.
Electronic police charge documents, seen by News Corp, spell out the arrest charges which include, counts of assault with intent to cause physical injury and harassment.
Dyson has been charged with similar offences.
It comes as De Goey’s fellow team mates also offered their support.
Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard told 7News: “He’s obviously made another mistake and he’s gotta pay whatever that may be and I just sent him a message to say ‘mate I’m here for you no matter what’.”
Defender Jeremy Howe added his comments, saying: “And it’s not going to be like ‘we’ll sit in a room where we’ll just grill you for an hour, we just want to know you are all right, how did you find yourself in this situation and how can we avoid it next time, given it’s not the first time’.”
Melbourne Football Club’s premiership star midfielder Christian Petracca said it would be a “difficult position to be a part of”.
He said he needed to “lean on people around him and he’s got good people around him”.
The New York Police Department confirmed in a statement that De Goey and Dyson were arrested at 2.44am local time at the PHD Rooftop Lounge inside the Dream Hotel, where the pair were also staying.
Both are accused of having “grabbed private areas outside of clothing without permission” of a 35-year-old woman. Her friend was reportedly outraged and stepped in.
Dyson allegedly “struck 37-year-old male in the face with a glass” while De Goey “punched with a closed fist and kicked” the man, the NYPD said.
While the victim’s lip was reportedly cut, he refused medical treatment, The New York Post reported. The woman was said to also have been a guest at the Dream Hotel, but neither she nor De Goey were seen at the hotel in Manhattan’s trendy Chelsea neighbourhood on Sunday local time.
Before their arrest, the Australian men posted clips on Instagram partying and dancing in bathrobes in a nightclub, with Dyson seen drinking straight from a bottle.
Defence lawyer Jacob Kaplan of Brafman & Associates, who represented De Goey at court, would not confirm whether the sacked footballer would remain in New York until his next court appearance on December 8, saying, “as of now, we have no comment on the matter”.
Brafman & Associates, one of New York’s top defence law firms, was tapped by disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein when he was charged with rape in 2018. Defence lawyer Benjamin Brafman secured bail for Weinstein at $1 million before the pair parted ways in 2019.
His firm has represented rapper Jay-Z, Sean “P Diddy” Combs, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, and NFL star Plaxico Burress.
In defending Weinstein, Mr Brafman said in a profile interview with Esquire magazine “I’m not the morality police … I’m a criminal defence lawyer”.
Mr Brafman is known to be circumspect on his rates, but a 2009 lawsuit Gabayzadeh v. Brafman, filed by a former client, asserted that Brafman & Associates charged fees totalling USD $1,027,058.75 ($AU1,366,993.66) before the case even made it to trial.
While De Goey has one of the most sought after defence teams in the United States, Dyson was assigned legal aid for his hearing.
The Collingwood Football Club, which stood De Goey down indefinitely after the alleged incident, released a brief statement saying they were attempting to contact him.
“The club will continue to pay De Goey under the terms of his contract until such time as an outcome to proceedings against him in the United States is reached or a more complete account of events is established,” the statement said.
“Collingwood has been in contact with De Goey and his management today and has explained to both its decision.”
De Goey and Dyson are scheduled to reappear in court in New York on December 8.
As part of his bail conditions, De Goey must check-in by phone once a week.
Originally published as Jordan De Goey’s ‘forcible touching’ charge dropped after team mates rally around him
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