Former NRL superstar Brett Stewart (pictured in 2016) has said he is still haunted by a false rape accusation ten years ago
Former NRL superstar Brett Stewart who was falsely accused of rape has said he is baffled by the NRL’s new policy to ban players facing serious charges before they are found guilty.
The Manly Sea Eagles and New South Wales State of Origin star, 34, was cleared of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in the street ten years ago.
He said the NRL has learned nothing from his case and that players should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Under the NRL’s new policy introduced in February, players facing serious charges are banned from matches but can still train and get paid.
Announcing the policy, NRL boss Todd Greenburg said: ‘This is about sending a clear message the game does not tolerate violence, against women or children. Our job is to rebuild the reputation and protect the game.’
Under the no fault policy, Illawarra Dragons and NSW forward Jack de Belin, 28, has been stood down as he fights an allegation he raped a 19-year-old girl with his friend in Wollongong in December.
Manly player Dylan Walker is also sidelined while he faces domestic violence charges and Penrith’s Tyrone May is banned for allegedly filming and sharing a sex tape.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Stewart criticised the policy, saying it is unfair and has no regard for players’ welfare.
‘How the NRL thinks they can do that… it baffles me,’ Stewart said.
‘You’d think they would have learned a few things from my case. From the outside looking in, it doesn’t seem like they have.’
Talking about de Belin’s case, he said: ‘No one really knows what has happened. My thinking would be to let the accused go through court and let them then find out whether he is guilty or not. How can you penalise him before he has been to court?’
Brett Stewart of the Sea Eagles is tackled by Boyd Cordner of the Roosters during the Round 25 NRL match in 2015
The Manly Sea Eagles and New South Wales State of Origin star (pictured in 2015), 34, was cleared of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in the street on March 6, 2009
Stewart also told how he is still haunted by the false rape accusation made against him a decade ago.
The girl had claimed he cornered her, tongue-kissed her and assaulted her outside his north Sydney townhouse complex after the Manly season launch on March 6, 2009.
Stewart said in court he fended her off before her father, a convicted fraudster who was $23,000 behind on his rent, came running towards him shouting ‘Is this him? Did you touch my daughter?’
After a three-week trial, a jury took just 90 minutes to clear Stewart.
But ten years on, he still thinks about the trauma he was put through and says he has never been the same since.
Stewart, who was known and loved for being friendly with fans, said he is now more aloof with the public and finds it hard to trust people he doesn’t know.
The former superstar, who now runs a Japanese restaurant in Melbourne, said seeing his family and friends struggle to cope with the court process broke his heart.
Illawarra Dragons and NSW forward Jack de Belin (pictured with his girlfriend), 28, has been stood down as he fights an allegation he raped a 19-year-old
During his 2010 trial, Stewart said the girl was standing outside the house he shared with his girlfriend having a cigarette when he got out of his taxi after leaving Manly hotel.
According to his version of events, the girl said: ‘I’ve seen you on TV’ and he replied: ‘Yeah, you probably have… What are you doing?’
‘Having a cigarette,’ she said before he responded ‘yuck, that’s not good for you, what are you doing that for?’ while waving the smoke away from his face.
Stewart said the girl didn’t answer him but grabbed his arm and said: ‘I just want a kiss.’
He said he backed away and used both his arms to fend her off before she giggled and walked off.
Stewart, who had been kicked out of the Manly Hotel beer garden with his friends because they were deemed to be drunk, said he waited outside his house for a minute because he recalled being told in club briefings to stay where you are and let the dust settle if there was a scene.
At that point he said the girl’s father came running towards him shouting ‘Is this him? Did you touch my daughter?’ and began throwing punches at him.
Stewart said he dodged the punches until other people arrived and the man calmed down.
During the trial, the girl said she had been diagnosed with a mental illness and the judge described her father, who gave a ‘clouded’ testimony, as a ‘somewhat volatile man.’
Stewart’s family and friends wept as a jury delivered a not guilty verdict.
Rugby league footballer Brett Stewart (right) arrives with his girlfriend Jaime Baker at the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney for his trial in 2010
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