A Sri Lankan cricketer accused of raping a woman while in Australia for the T20 World Cup has been found not guilty.
Danushka Gunathilaka, 32, was accused of assaulting the Sydney woman at her home after a Tinder date in November.
Initially he was charged with multiple counts of rape, only one count of stealthing – removing a condom without consent – proceeded to trial.
On Thursday a Sydney judge found Mr Gunathilaka did not commit the offence.
Giving evidence during a four-day trial in a New South Wales District Court, the complainant said she had only consented to protected sex, and that she did not see the batsman remove the condom, but saw it on she the floor shortly after the intercourse ended.
In her judgement, Sarah Huggett found Mr Gunathilaka had told police the truth when he said he had not removed the condom during sex. He had “no opportunity” to do so, she said.
The case was the first high-profile test of stealthing law reform, which was only introduced in NSW five months before Mr Gunathilaka was charged.