Former police officer charged with perjury in relation to Jack de Belin, Callan Sinclair sexual assault case

Hannah Cross
The Nightly
Jack de Belin leaves the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney, Monday, May 10, 2021.
Jack de Belin leaves the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney, Monday, May 10, 2021. Credit: JOEL CARRETT/AAPIMAGE

A former police officer has been charged with perjury after a three-year investigation into a controversial sexual assault case.

Officers with NSW Police’s Professional Standards Command opened an investigation in 2021 into the conduct of the officers involved in the sexual assault case of NRL player Jack de Belin and his friend Callan Sinclair.

Dubbed Strike Force Ephemeris, investigators received advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on Friday to charge a former detective senior constable with giving false evidence under oath amounting to perjury.

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“The 48-year-old man was issued a future court attendance notice to appear before Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday, 19 June 2024,” NSW Police said in a statement.

It comes just months after the families of Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair blasted NSW Police for letting the investigation drag on without resolution.

The bungled case was first heard in February 2020 in Wollongong District Court, where Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair each pleaded not guilty to five counts of aggravated sexual assault.

But that trial and a second trial both ended with hung juries, before a third trial was abandoned, forcing the Director of Public Prosecutions to drop the sexual assault charges against the pair in mid-2021.

Strike Force Ephemeris is continuing its inquiries.

Mr de Belin, 33, continues to play for the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Sexual Assault Resource Centre 1800 199 888

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