Suspended Beale to face sexual assault trial in January

NEWS: Suspended Australia star Kurtley Beale will stand trial in January accused of sexually assaulting a woman after an alleged incident at a Sydney pub.

The 34-year-old formally pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual touching when he appeared in Downing Centre District Court on Friday.

A further charge of inciting another to sexually touch the alleged victim was withdrawn in June.

Beale, who is on bail, is accused of sexually assaulting the 28-year-old woman at the Beach Road Hotel near Bondi Beach late at night on December 17 last year and early in the morning the following day.

An interim apprehended violence order against Beale is expected to come back before the courts after the trial.

He did not comment outside court on Friday, however, told media in June he was devastated by the accusations.

“I’m not guilty. The allegation has been falsely [brought] against me and the truth will come out,” he said.

The gifted Waratahs and Wallabies playmaker has 95 Australian caps.

He won the 2011 John Eales medal for Player of the Year.

Because of the legal proceedings, Rugby Australia suspended Beale from all forms of rugby in January, a week after he took part in a 44-man Wallabies training camp.

Beale was expected to be given a fresh lease of life under re-appointed Wallabies coach Eddie Jones after being omitted from Dave Rennie’s squad for the spring tour to Europe.

Beale last year returned to Australia after a spell at French club Racing 92 and in October he and wife Maddi celebrated the birth of their first son.

Jones has long talked in glowing terms of the veteran’s unique gifts on the field.

“Kurtley is the most wonderfully gifted player,” he has said.

“He does things other players don’t even dream of.”

He will next be in court on December 1 before his trial on January 15, 2024.