EXCLUSIVE
The former police officer charged with perjury over NRL star Jack de Belin’s rape trial could be locked up when he faces court for the first time on Wednesday.
Shawn Adams was a detective senior constable based in Wollongong, south of Sydney, when he allegedly gave false evidence under oath against de Belin.
Police revealed in May that the 48-year-old had been charged with perjury after a long investigation into de Belin’s rape trial in Wollongong District Court in 2020.
Adams was originally charged with one count of making a false statement on oath amounting to perjury and a second count of the same offence has now been added.
He is also listed as the subject of a detention application by the prosecution when he faces Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday.
Adams gave evidence in de Belin’s prosecution after investigating allegations that the NRL star and fellow footballer Callan Sinclair had raped a 19-year-old Wollongong woman in 2018.
Shawn Adams, the former police officer charged with perjury over NRL star Jack de Belin’s rape trial, could be locked up when he faces court for the first time on Wednesday. The footballer is pictured
De Belin and Sinclair’s first trial in Wollongong trial ended in a hung jury in November 2020.
At a second trial in Sydney a jury found the Dragons forward and Sinclair not guilty in May 2021 of one count of sexual assault against the woman.
The jury could not reach a verdict on the remaining four charges, leading the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions to not proceed with a third trial.
Officers attached to the NSW Police Force’s professional standards command commenced an investigation into the conduct of officers involved in the court case under Strike Force Ephemeris.
‘Following extensive inquiries and upon receiving advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, police have charged a former Detective Senior Constable with giving false evidence under oath amounting to perjury,’ police said on May 3.
Shawn Adams was lashed by Judge Andrew Haesler for his conduct while investigating the allegation that de Belin (pictured with partner Alyce Taylor) had raped a 19-year-old Wollongong woman in 2018.
‘The 48-year-old man was issued a future court attendance notice to appear before Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday, 19 June 2024. Investigations under Strike Force Ephemeris continue.’
Both de Belin and Sinclair consistently maintained they were innocent of the rape allegations and had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Their families have welcomed the action taken against Adams, with de Belin’s parents and sister expressing their anger at media and the police.
‘We are of course disappointed and upset about the three years that were taken from Jack and our family throughout the process,’ wrote mother Cathy, father David and sister Erica de Belin in a letter to Nine newspapers.
‘It was an incredibly upsetting and stressful time for us, but we are a very close family and we got through it together.
‘We are so proud of Jack. He has a beautiful wife and children, for which he is incredibly grateful.’
De Belin was stood down by the NRL in February 2019, two months after he was first charged, until the outcome of the court cases and missed two full NRL seasons.
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