Rugby player Connor Lind admits to kissing 14-year-old but denies sex acts

A rugby player has admitted to kissing and cuddling a 14-year-old girl in a ‘stolen moment’ but claims he ‘cut it off’ before any sexual activity occurred.

A rugby player has admitted to kissing and cuddling a 14-year-old girl in a “stolen moment” but claims he “cut it off” before things could progress to sexual activity.

Connor Lind, 23, is on trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court after denying he engaged in sexual acts with a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl.

He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of having sexual intercourse with a child and one count of intentionally sexually touching a child.

The Crown prosecution alleges the rugby player was 19 years old when he engaged in anal, oral, and digital sex with the 14-year-old alleged victim.

On Thursday, Mr Lind told the jury he had cuddled the minor during “a stolen moment” and they had kissed “a few times”.

Connor Lind is accused of engaging in sexual activity with two underage girls. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

He told the jury he became aroused during the cuddling but he “cut it off straight away”.

“Look we need to stop now, it’s getting too heated,” Mr Lind recalled telling the underage girl.

The rugby player, who was 19 years old at the time, said he set clear boundaries because he knew the girl was 14 years old and too young to consent to sexual activity.

“I said nothing sexual could happen because of the age difference,” he told the jury.

Mr Lind explained he was trying to avoid “crossing a line” by not allowing himself to be in “too sexual a position” with the minor.

When approached by an adult about the rumours he was intimate with the 14-year-old, the then-19-year-old claimed the suggestion was “disgusting”.

He told the court he didn’t reveal his canoodling with the underage girl because he “felt pretty embarrassed” about his attraction to “someone who’s a bit younger than me”.

He told the court he “felt like (he) shouldn’t have had those emotions” and he “didn’t want to be looked down upon”.

“I was scared of the way people would perceive me,” the now-23-year-old said.

“Because of the age gap, that people would look at me like I was a lot more immature than I was … it felt like they would judge me for not being with someone my own age.”

Mr Lind is also accused of putting his hand down the 14-year-old girl’s pants while sitting on the couch in his parents’ house.

He has denied having any sexual contact with either complainant. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

He denied the claim when it was put to him by his barrister Lisa-Claire Hutchinson, telling the jury he had readjusted the underage girl while they were cuddling.

A witness previously testified she “heard noises” and looked over to see Mr Lind digitally penetrating the 14-year-old on the couch next to her.

She said she loudly exclaimed “Jesus Christ” before leaving the house, but Mr Lind said he hadn’t heard her make any noise.

The witness confronted him about what she had seen in a message the next day, the court was told.

“You should have known things were going to turn south when you put your hands down the pants of a 14 year old with me wide awake next to you,” the witness said in a Snapchat message.

Mr Lind replied he had done “s**t I’m not proud of”, which he said was a reference to the shame he felt being attracted to the underage girl.

He told the jury he hadn’t addressed the witness’ claim about putting his hand down the girl’s pants because he was distracted by the “heated” message exchange.

The cheerleader is also charged with engaging in sexual acts with a 15-year-old girl in his red Jeep when he was 20 years old.

The underage girl previously told the jury he had kissed her and put his hand down her pants to touch her vagina.

She alleged Mr Lind had offered to pull down her underwear and had asked her for “just one lick”. The teen recalled saying ‘no’ multiple times but told police “it kept going”.

Mr Lind will be questioned about the 15-year-old’s claims on Monday, but he has denied having any sexual contact with either complainant.

He did admit to kissing and cuddling the 14-year-old on Thursday. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Ms Hutchinson has argued that at the time her client was a promising rugby union player and university student and he had “every reason to uphold the law”.

The court heard he had played for two under 20s rugby teams and participated in rugby sevens competitions at the time of the allegations.

The 23-year-old told the court he dreamt of playing rugby union at “the highest level of representatives possible.”

That dream – and his aspirations of becoming a PE teacher – are on hold while he fights the allegations against him, Mr Lind said.

The trial continues before Judge John Pickering on Monday.