Family of Kurtley Beale’s accuser take the stand in trial’s second week

WARNING: Graphic

A woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Wallabies star Kurtley Beale in the bathroom flew interstate to shop for a wedding dress hours later, a court has heard.

Beale, 35, is facing a jury trial at Sydney’s Downing Centre Court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual touching.

Police allege Mr Beale groped the woman’s bottom at the Beach Road bar in Bondi on December 17, 2022, before forcing her into oral sex in a stall in the men’s bathroom.

The jury were told the 29-year-old flew up to Queensland the following day.

The woman told her mother-in-law to-be “Kurtley (Beale) followed me into the toilet and pinned me against the wall and tried to have sex with me”.

In her evidence, the mother-in-law said the woman had told her fiance “something really weird happened” and he was flying up early to be with her.

The mother-in-law drove the woman to a police station where she made a statement to police. On the way, she further described the allegation.

“She said ‘He (Beale) was pissed. I don’t think he’d remember … he could hardly stand up, and was pinching me on the arse all night,” the mother-in-law said.

The woman later added after leaving that “he tried to put his dick in my mouth”, to which her mother-in-law replied: “Why didn’t you bite the f**king thing?”

The jury heard evidence from five members of the couple’s families on Monday about the woman’s earliest allegations, including her mother and father.

They described her as being “frazzled” and breaking down in tears during the morning after the alleged incident, while her father said she was in “mental anguish”.

“There was fear on her face. Simple,” he said. “She was holding back from not crying and couldn’t look me in the eye. For me, that’s mental anguish on her part,” he said.

The woman’s father told the court that her daughter had told him during the same conversation that she was “scared that because of (Beale’s) profile people will hate us”.

Her mother gave evidence that her daughter had alleged she was “sexually assaulted” and her first reaction was: “Why are you on the plane? Why did you go?”

“She said she had to get away. She had to process what happened. I was concerned about her being away and having to deal with this without us there,” the mother said.

Under cross-examination, Beale’s barrister, Margaret Cunneen SC, grilled the witnesses about an argument between the woman and her fiance that week.

Four witnesses denied any knowledge of the argument, with the woman’s father stating that she was happy when the couple arrived in Sydney the night before.

Only her sister said there was a disagreement, but it wasn’t “serious”. A friend present on the night gave evidence there was “tension” between the couple.

The five family witnesses also gave evidence as to the order of events on the night, including claims contrary to CCTV that the woman entered the men’s bathroom first.

“She told me, ‘I needed to go to the bathroom but left the cubicle unlocked. Someone followed me in and got inside the cubicle’,” the woman’s future sister-in-law said.

“Someone said can you f**k me? Can you f**k me? He put his penis in my face … I pushed against him and said I’m engaged’. He said, ‘Well f**k off then’ and left’.”

In her evidence, the woman claimed Beale had been “forceful” and “desperate” and had asked for sex before barging in on her in the men’s stall and locking the door.

In cross-examination, Ms Cunneen suggested to the woman she instead was the one “in control” of the encounter and had used the allegation to get sympathy for her fiance.

An employee who entered the bathroom during the alleged incident also gave evidence they saw a pair of men’s and women’s feet in one stall but didn’t hear any noises.

The jury earlier heard evidence from the woman’s fiance during the second week of the trial, who spoke about the pair’s relationship, and were also shown CCTV footage.

The trial will continue on Tuesday.