The Sydney police, that arrested Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka on charges of four counts of rape on Sunday, November 6, 2022, revealed in the facts sheet filed with the Downing Centre local court that the cricketer had choked the victim thrice while sexually assaulting her.
The police also quoted the victim telling them how she was “fearing for her life” during the alleged sexual assault.
The woman alleged she was sexually assaulted four times in her Rose Bay house on November 2 after going out on a date with the Sri Lankan cricketer, who was in town for the T20 World Cup.
Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka arrested, denied bail
Gunathilaka, 31, was later arrested from Sydney’s Hyatt Regency Hotel by the Sydney police when the rest of the members of the Sri Lankan team was preparing to return home following the team’s elimination from the Super 12 stage.
He is being charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent and has yet to enter a plea. Each charge carries a maximum jail sentence of 14 years. The left-handed batsman was denied bail on Monday after the Sydney police argued he is a flight risk.
The victim alleges she was ‘choked repeatedly’, and had to go through a brain scan to check for any injury resulting from the repeated choking.
According to prosecution documents made public on Wednesday, the “complainant” called a counselling service early the next day, saw her general practitioner, and “couldn’t stop crying,” rendering her unable to work. The next day, she gave a statement to police, was given a sexual assault investigation kit in a hospital, and underwent a brain scan to “check for any injury resulting from the repeated choking.”
Recounting what transpired, the Sydney woman told the police that Gunathilaka tried to choke her three times during the sexual assault. “The complainant tried to remove the accused’s hand by grabbing his wrist, but the accused squeezed tighter around her neck,” Australian media reports said quoting police documents.
“The complainant was fearing for her life and could not get away from the accused. She continually tried to pull away from the accused, a clear indication that she was not consenting.”
The next hearing in the case is set for January 12.
Meanwhile, Gunathilaka’s lawyers SANS Law Associates issued a brief statement in which they said: “Danushka Gunathilaka maintains his innocence of all charges. Given the early stages of proceedings, we do not wish to make any further comment and will allow for the matter to be properly ventilated before the Court.”
What transpired
As per the victim’s account, the couple matched on the dating app Tinder on October 29 and later had a number of video calls through WhatsApp before meeting in person at Opera Bar, in Sydney’s CBD on November 2, 2022. The duo ate pizzas and had a couple of drinks before taking a ferry back to the alleged victim’s house.
The documents quoted the victim as further saying that during the ferry ride, Gunathilaka pressed his body against the woman, kissed her “forcefully”, and slapped her on the bottom. When the couple got to the woman’s house, Gunathilaka, as per the victim, allegedly forced himself on her on four occasions and choked her so hard she couldn’t breathe during one assault.
The four charges cover a range of sexual offences, including alleged choking incidents and sex without a condom without consent. Under New South Wales’ new affirmative consent laws, sex without a condom without consent (known as “stealthing”) is an offence.
During one of the alleged choking incidents, “the complainant’s breathing was severely restricted for about six seconds”, the facts sheet said. It was soon after this that “the complainant was in shock and she did not feel safe saying anything to the accused out of fear of retribution,” according to the document.
The victim filed a complaint against the cricketer on November 5.
Sri Lanka Cricket association suspends Danushka Gunathilaka
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has, meanwhile, taken strong cognizance of the incident and suspended Gunathilaka from all forms of the game. The Sri Lankan government has also asked SLC to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
The ExCo of SLC decided to suspend national player Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect and will not consider him for any selections. READ 👇https://t.co/0qp6lNVEoH
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) November 7, 2022
It may be recalled that Gunathilaka had got out for a duck in Sri Lanka’s first-round match against Namibia. He was later ruled out of the tournament due to an injury but remained with the squad when it advanced to the Super 12 round.
Gunathilaka has a history of controversies
Gunathilaka, who has played eight Tests, 47 ODIs, and 46 T20 Internationals for Sri Lanka, is no stranger to controversy.
SLC suspended him for a year in 2021 after he crossed the team’s bio-secure bubble while on tour in England with teammates Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella.
SLC also banned him for six months in 2018 after he violated the team curfew. Gunathilaka was suspended the same year when an anonymous buddy was accused of raping a Norwegian woman.
After learning that Gunathilaka had missed training sessions and showed up for a game without his cricket kit, the board punished him for six limited-overs games in 2017.
