Sri Lankan cricket star cleared of assaulting Tinder date shows off his new girlfriend

News.com.au

6 days ago

Sri Lankan cricket star Danushka Gunathilaka, who was cleared of sexually assaulting a woman Down Under, has poked fun at the court case as he flaunted his new girlfriend on social media.
Gunathilaka was arrested in November 2022 and charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a Tinder date while in Sydney.
The 34-year-old was part of the Sri Lankan side Down Under for the T20 World Cup.
He was accused of stealthing – removing a condom without consent – during a sexual encounter with a female in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
He was acquitted the following year during a judge-alone trial.
Since then, he returned to Sri Lanka and restarted his cricket career, but hasn't made it back into the national team since.
And on Friday, Gunathilaka took his chance to poke fun at the ordeal as he debuted his new relationship on Instagram.
'I'm not sure what's more terrifying, the wedding or the potential for a future court date. Send wine … and maybe a lawyer referral, ' he wrote, alongside a photo carousel of him and his new flame.
Fans were quick to celebrate the cricket star's new love interest.
'Looking beautiful together,' one wrote.
'Good luck man,' another said.
While others were greatly amused by the caption writing 'cheeky caption' and 'cheeky cheeky boy'.
Gunathilaka was supported during his trial by his girlfriend Celine, but the post suggests the pair quietly went their separate ways in the months that followed.
What happened during Gunathilaka's trial
Gunathilaka was arrested in the early hours of November 6 at the Hyatt Regency and taken to Day Street Police Station, where he answered questions for more than two hours.
During his recorded interview, the cricketer became emotional as he spoke about a spiritual conversation he had with the alleged victim, where she said she had the power to 'see the future'.
He told police he was 'interested' as he was a Buddhist.
'We were talking about religious things … she can see in a past life and we chatted about that kind of stuff,' he said in the interview as he broke down in tears.
Gunathilaka told officers he asked the woman to tell him about his past life.
He said she told him they used to be neighbours in Thailand.
The cricketer told police he became scared and 'got a feeling' the woman was 'a bit weird', prompting him to leave.
She ordered him a taxi.
During his trial, he was asked if at any point he put his penis 'into her without a condom on'.
'No, no, definitely not,' Mr Gunathilaka replied.
In the end, Judge Sarah Huggett described aspects of the police's handling of the woman's complaint as 'deeply troubling' and acquitted the Sri Lankan cricketer.
'Aspects of the handling of her complaint were far from satisfactory and, to be frank, very concerning,' she said.
In particular, it was said that notes taken by officers during the woman's first interview with police 'make no record of an offence of stealthing'.
She also said that 'for no good reason at all, those notes were destroyed.'