Bulldogs gang rape allegation
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In March 2004, a 23-year-old woman in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia filed a complaint to the police, alleging she was gang raped by six men from Sydney's Bulldogs rugby league team. The independent DPP ruled the evidence was insufficient to prosecute, but the incident drew considerable media interest, and subjected the sport of Rugby League to unprecedented scrutiny.
There was speculation after some Bulldog players admitted to engaging in consensual group sex a few days earlier with the woman that this is a trend throughout football generally as well as a social trend among youths. This is described as "gang banging".
Despite what was reported in the media, it was only two players who were suspected of 'gang rape', while another four were implicated for allegedly withholding information from police. Several witnesses rejected the alleged victim's two different versions of events, and that since then two detectives have come forward and publicly stated it was clear very early in the investigation that the claims were "nonsense". Detective Senior Sergeant Gary McEvoy said[1]
| “ | The evidence just wasn't there, it didn't support the rape allegations and as investigators we had very serious concerns; yet despite that, the aggressive police strategy continued week after week. There were warning bells that we would look silly. Everyone in the investigation saw the signs but the people above us were not listening - or if they were, they were ignoring them | ” |
A grassroots movement, Football Fans Against Sexual Assault, has since been set up, lobbying football clubs to allow their players to wear purple armbands during matches in support of women's rights. The National Rugby League fined the club $500 000 for the incident.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Statement printed in the Sydney Morning Herald, 06/05/06
[edit] External link
[edit] References
- Rugby rocked by fresh rape claims
- No Bulldogs charged over rape allegations
- NRL fines Bulldogs for Coffs Harbour incident
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