Jury weighs up underage sex allegations against rugby player

The jury has retired to consider its verdicts in the trial of a promising young Sydney rugby player accused of engaging in sexual acts with two underage girls.

Connor Lind, 23, has for the last three weeks faced trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court, denying he engaged in sexual acts with a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl.

He pleaded not guilty to four counts of having sexual intercourse with a child and one count of intentionally sexually touching a child, with the jury on Tuesday afternoon retiring to consider its verdicts.

The Crown prosecution alleges Mr Lind was 19 when he engaged in anal, oral and digital sex with the 14-year-old alleged victim.

The girl told police in a recorded interview, which was played to the jury during the trial, that she had anal sex in his room.

Under cross-examination from Mr Lind’s barrister, Lisa-Claire Hutchinson, it was put to the girl that she never engaged in sexual acts with Lind.

She repeatedly said: “False.”

The girl was under the age of consent of 16 at the time, but Mr Lind, in his evidence before the jury, denied the acts ever occurred.

The court was told that according to his defence, Mr Lind aspired to play professional rugby union and to be a teacher and did not want to endanger his future.

As well, he claimed he wanted to respect the girl’s wishes to not have sex before marriage.

Mr Lind told the jury that he had cuddled the minor and they had kissed “a few times”.

He said in his evidence that he set clear boundaries because he knew the girl was too young to consent to sexual activity.

“I said nothing sexual could happen because of the age difference,” he told the jury.

Mr Lind told the jury that he became aroused during the cuddling, but he “cut it off straight away”.

He has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual touching in relation to an allegation that he touched the girl’s stomach and inner thigh while sitting on the lounge.

The court was told that Mr Lind denied touching her lower than her stomach area.

He is also alleged to have put his hand down the pants of another 15-year-old girl while sitting in his car at Dee Why beach.

Mr Lind’s defence has denied the allegation and he has pleaded not guilty to one count of having sexual intercourse with a child.

The jury played a police video interview with the second complainant who alleged that Mr Lind put his hand down her pants and touched her vagina without her consent.

The court was told that they were in the front seat of Mr Lind’s red Jeep parked at Dee Why beach when he kissed her.

“It happened so quickly, I don’t remember how it came to us kissing, it happened so fast,” the girl said in her police interview played to the court.

Mr Lind denied the allegation and Ms Hutchinson argued the girl did not immediately raise complaints with her friends, told them about the kiss but made no mention that it was against her will, the court was told.

The jury will return its verdicts following its deliberations.