Sri Lanka cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka granted bail in case of alleged sexual assault
Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka was granted bail on sexual assault accusations after an Australian judge heard he had the support of the Sri Lankan cricket association and government, and a bond of $150,000 was offered.
Gunathilaka was arrested in the early hours of November 6 at the Hyatt Regency hotel on Sussex Street, before the Sri Lankan team flew home without him following their defeat to England in the T20 World Cup Super 12 match.
Gunathilaka had been imprisoned for 11 nights after being denied bail on November 7 in Downing Centre Local Court. His lawyers have submitted a bail application in the NSW Supreme Court, with a hearing scheduled for December 8.
He was accused with four charges of sexual intercourse without consent after allegedly sexually assaulting a 29-year-old woman in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on November 2, only days after they met on Tinder. No pleas have been entered.
The case resurfaced in the Local Court docket on Thursday, when defense attorney Murugan Thangaraj, SC, applied for Gunathilaka’s release.
Earlier, Sri Lanka Cricket said that it will cooperate with Australian law authorities while also conducting its own investigation into “several alleged incidences” in Australia.
