Ben Simmons sister Olivia claims she was victim of child sex-trafficking ring

The sister of basketball star Ben Simmons claims she was preyed upon by a child sex-trafficking ring in suburban Melbourne.

Ben Simmons, Sean Tribe and Olivia Simmons.

The sister of Australian basketballer Ben Simmons claims she was preyed upon by a child sex-trafficking ring while growing up in suburban Melbourne and now suffers “flashbacks” of the sickening abuse she endured.

Olivia Simmons has made the allegation in a video shared with her online social media following, encouraging them to further distribute the clip to ensure her safety.

“I have come to TikTok today, not on a positive note,” the 29-year-old single mother says in the undated video. “I have come here today because the country of Australia is sex-trafficking children – and I am a victim of that sex-­trafficking ring.

“I have recently started having flashbacks and nobody believed me. Everyone keeps hating me like I’m f..king crazy, and I know I’m not crazy.

“I’m saying this openly (in case) anything f..king happens to me. What they’re doing in this country is really f..king sick between the schools and the sporting complexes and all these events. This entire country was built off paedophilia … and I remember everything.”

The Australian understands Ms Simmons was set to be grilled about the claims she raised in the video in the Federal Court after making similar historic sex alle­gations against her half-brother, Sean Tribe, and accusing him on social media in April of sexually assaulting her as a child and ­“molesting (me) for years from age three”.

Ms Simmons initially claimed she “recalled” the alleged abuse at the hands of her sibling after undergoing “suppressed memories therapy” five years ago and she was “tired of this facade just ‘cause my brother (Ben Simmons) is ­famous” and it could damage his “brand”.

She also denied fabricating the allegations in the days after she posted them on Twitter, adding that while she had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, she was not suffering from any mental illness.

However, on Tuesday, judge Michael Lee found Ms Simmons had defamed her half-brother after she conceded she was unable to defend her allegations and had received advice from her therapist to not continue in the case.

Olivia Simmons.

Mr Tribe, who has always maintained his innocence, took legal action against his half-sister in April after repeated mediation attempts by family members failed to resolve the matter, retaining Sydney barristers Sue Chrysanthou SC and Barry Dean, with reputation specialist Rebekah Giles, of Company Giles, acting as his solicitor.

The family has been at loss to explain Ms Simmons’s motivation for making the allegations against her half-brother, though some suspect she is jealous of his position as their famous sibling Ben Simmons’s manager.

The 25-year-old is one of Australia’s greatest sporting exports. Since becoming the No. 1 NBA draft pick in 2016, he has cemented himself as a star player for the Philadelphia 76ers, where he commands a $38m salary.

The basketballer has strong ties with both siblings. He flew home to Melbourne to be by Ms Simmons’s side in 2018 after her young daughter was diagnosed with a rare brain condition, while Mr Tribe moved to the US almost a decade ago to work with him.

In legal papers filed with the Federal Court in April, Ms Giles said Mr Tribe and Ms Simmons, who also played basketball in the US for the Arizona State Sun Devils, had enjoyed a “normal close sibling relationship” until March when Ms Simmons raised sex ­assault accusations against Mr Tribe to another family member.

She said Ms Simmons then posted the “sensational, accusatory and spiteful” allegations on social media, knowing her relationship to her sports star brother would give them prominence.

Justice Lee said he had ­extended “considerable sympathy” to Ms Simmons and had gone “to great lengths to assist her” by offering her repeated ­extensions to file a defence. He banned her from repeating her sexual abuse allegations against Mr Tribe ahead of a hearing on September 14 when the court would rule on damages.

The court is expected to hear Ms Simmons’s social media posts “devastated” Mr Tribe and the extended Simmons family. In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Tribe said he welcomed the court’s decision and was looking forward to putting the matter behind him.