Jack de Belin, Callan Sinclair trial: NRL star denies men plotted threesome but woman had ‘no say’
Jack de Belin told a woman who would go on to accuse him of sexual assault “don’t stress babe” after hearing her say seven words, a court heard.
NRL star Jack de Belin has denied in court a young woman who has accused him and his friend of rape had “no say” in what they were doing to her.
Mr de Belin told a Downing Centre District Court trial on Wednesday that the woman knew full well about the planned sex and only appeared concerned about him having a girlfriend.
The St George Illawarra forward said after the threesome at a North Wollongong unit he had a brief shower with the woman.
She got out before him, he said, and when he came back into the bedroom he overheard her talking with his friend Callan Sinclair, who is also on trial.
“I heard her say, ‘Oh my God he’s got a girlfriend’,” Mr de Belin said.
“I said words to the effect of, ‘Don’t stress it babe. We’re on the rocks anyway. It’s complicated’.”
The 30-year-old and Mr Sinclair, 23, are standing trial at Downing Centre District Court charged with five counts of aggravated sexual assault stemming from the incident on December 9, 2018.
The court has been told the men met the woman, who can’t be named, on the upstairs dancefloor of Wollongong nightclub Mr Crown before returning to a nearby unit occupied by Mr de Belin’s cousin.
The alleged victim has claimed in evidence before the court that Mr de Belin stripped off her clothes, pinned her down and forced oral, vaginal and anal sex on her, swapping positions with Mr Sinclair.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges and say the sex was consensual.
As the prosecution and defence cases closed on Wednesday, the jury heard evidence from both men recorded in their previous trial in November last year, during which they said the woman was not crying and never said ‘No’ or ‘Stop’ as she has claimed.
Crown prosecutor David Scully accused Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair of plotting to have a threesome with the woman while at the nightclub but failing to “let her in” on the plan until they arrived back at the unit.
The court has previously heard Mr de Belin’s claim that he propositioned the woman to a threesome on the dancefloor, asking her “Me, you, Cal” after she was “flirty” with Mr Sinclair.
In his evidence Mr de Belin said she winked and smiled in response.
Mr Scully put to him that the woman believed they were only leaving Mr Crown to go to another nightclub called Fever.
“You never discussed (the sex) with her before you got to the unit … there wasn’t even a hint of a suggestion that you were going back for a threesome,” Mr Scully said.
Mr de Belin replied: “Yes there was.”
“You wanted to get her back to the unit and you hoped and expected that when you got there she would have sex with you?” Mr Scully continued.
The former State of Origin player said that was wrong but conceded he believed the woman wanted to have sex with him when they got back to the apartment.
Mr Scully put to him that the woman was crying and said “No” but the men did not stop.
He asked Mr de Belin if they asked her if it was OK to change positions during sex.
“The fact is she had no say in any of this did she?” he asked.
Mr de Belin said “we all had a say” and declared claims that the men were “cheering each other on” during the sex were false.
The footballer said after the sex he gave the woman $50 to order an Uber for the trio but denied he also told her at the time to “keep your mouth shut”.
He also denied he had been aware police were listening in to his phone calls made in the days after the alleged rape and during which he expressed his shock at the claims.
“It didn’t even come across my mind,” Mr de Belin said.
He said a conversation with Mr Sinclair where they discussed the incident and urged each other to “tell the truth” was not an attempt to get their stories straight.
“I was just reassuring him because I could tell he was so worried and rattled from the whole situation,” he said.
In Mr Sinclair’s evidence he told the court he was dancing with and kissed the woman at Mr Crown, saying he was “keen on her”.
“I was attracted to her and … I believed she felt the same,” he said.
Soon after Mr de Belin said he approached Mr Sinclair to say “something along the lines of ‘Me you and (the woman), are you keen?”.
“I understood that to mean have sex … with (her) and Jack,” he said.
Mr Sinclair told the court there was no discussion between the trio about going to Fever.
He said Mr de Belin suggested they head back to his cousin’s unit which he believed to be vacant.
He said once in an upstairs bedroom they began kissing the woman.
After being briefly interrupted by the presence of a housemate, Mr de Belin began to have vaginal sex with the woman, he said.
Mr Sinclair said he joined in, first receiving oral sex from her before he and Mr de Belin swapped positions three times.
The woman has claimed Mr Sinclair at one stage left the room to get moisturiser before using it to assist with anal sex.
In court he denied that and said he left the room only once to have a shower when he started to suffer from “erectile dysfunction”.
When in the shower he could hear the woman and Mr de Belin continuing to have sex, the court heard.
“I heard (her) moaning and saying, ‘Yes’,” he said.
After they were done the woman had a shower with Mr de Belin before coming into the bedroom with an “upset look on her face” for a “few seconds”, Mr Sinclair claimed.
“I said, ‘What’s up?’” he said. “She said, ‘Oh but he’s got a girlfriend’.
“I said, ‘Nah it’s OK, it’s all sweet’ … (Mr de Belin) said something along the lines of ‘Oh babe, it’s OK we’re on the rocks’ and gave her a hug.”
In the recording Mr Sinclair’s former barrister Craig Smith asked him how the woman was during the sex, to which he replied “just normal”.
“Was she crying?” Mr Smith asked.
“Never,” Mr Sinclair said. “She was just normal and enjoying as we were.”
When he learnt of the allegations the following day he was “shocked and confused and panicked”, the court heard.
Mr de Belin’s older sister Erica told the court that her brother was “down to earth, genuine and honest” who was raised with strong values and was much more than just a footballer.
“To us he’s Jack, our incredibly loved and appreciated and important family member,” Ms de Belin said.
Former Dragons chief executive Brian Johnston was also called to give character evidence of Mr de Belin and described him as a “very loyal person … I’d take his word”.
Mr Sinclair’s aunt Lesa Rawlings told the court that she did not believe her nephew was capable of committing the acts he had been accused of.
Ms Rawlings said when she first spoke to Mr Sinclair after he was charged “he was very sure of his innocence and he was sure that would come out in the future”.
The trial continues.
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