Jack de Belin to face ex-cop who committed perjury in assault case
The ex-cop will face sentencing proceedings in the Wollongong District Court on Tuesday having pleaded guilty to one count of giving false evidence under oath amounting to perjury.
The charges relate to answers the officer gave to the same court in February 2020 when he gave evidence about viewing material on Mr de Belin's phone, including texts between the St George Illawarra forward and his lawyer.
Officer A viewed texts between Mr de Belin and his solicitor Craig Osborne but later lied under oath when he told a judge that he believed they were 'Dragons business'.
Mr de Belin and Callan Sinclair faced two trials in the NSW District Court after pleading not guilty to sexually assaulting a woman inside a North Wollongong unit in December 2018 before the charges were ultimately dropped.
The pair will be in court on Tuesday as the ex-cop – who can only be known as Officer A due to a non-publication order made by the court – faces a sentence hearing.
Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair will be in court along with a large contingent of family who remain angry over the police handling of the case and have called for an inquiry into what they consider many unanswered questions.
They are also disappointed that Officer A was granted a non-publication order over his name and identity.
It's understood that Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair want to view proceedings given they are deeply invested in the outcome.
Mr de Belin spent three years out of the NRL after he was sidelined under the game's 'no fault' stand-down rule.
He challenged the rule in the Federal Court, but Justice Melissa Perry ruled in favour of the Australian Rugby League Commission.
The Director of Public Prosecutions in 2021 dropped the criminal charges against Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair after two juries failed to come to a verdict.
The pair have persistently proclaimed their innocence and had maintained that any sexual contact was consensual.
Officer A was charged after a three-year investigation by the NSW Police Professional Standards Command into his testimony in the District Court.
He was charged relating to his evidence during a pre-trial hearing when Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair's lawyers applied for a stay of proceedings, which would have resulted in them never facing trial.
That application was ultimately dismissed.
During the hearing, Officer A was questioned about material he had viewed on Mr de Belin's Nokia phone that was seized by police in December 2019 when they raided his home.
According to a statement of agreed facts, Officer A viewed SMS messages between Mr de Belin and a contact listed as 'Craig Lawyer'.
'Craig Lawyer' was Craig Osborne, a Dragons director who was also on Mr de Belin's legal team, and many of the messages were protected by legal professional privilege.
In the messages, Mr Osborne gave Mr de Belin an update on preparations for the then upcoming trial, including the issuing of subpoenas, the taking of witness statements and experts who might be called to give evidence.
Police used the Cellebrite program to take screenshots of information on Mr de Belin's phone, including 203 messages with 'Craig Lawyer'.
After discovering that police had accessed the material, lawyers for Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair applied for a permanent stay of proceedings, arguing it robbed them of their right to a fair trial.
Officer A told the court under oath that he believed Mr de Belin's communications with 'Craig Lawyer' were 'Dragons business'.
This is despite admitting knowing that Mr Osborne was employed by RMB Lawyers, who were representing Mr de Belin.
Officer A was medically retired from the police force in August 2023.
He will appear in the Wollongong District Court on Tuesday morning. Steve Zemek Court reporter
Steve Zemek began his career in his native Queensland before moving to Sydney with Australian Associated Press in 2014. He worked as an NRL journalist for five seasons, covering the game all over Australia and in New Zealand before making a career pivot towards court reporting in 2019. He joined NCA NewsWire in mid 2020 as a Sydney-based court reporter where he has covered some of the state's biggest cases. Breaking News
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