NRL star Jack de Belin confronts cop in court who nearly destroyed his career over s*xual assault case

Jack de Belin, once at the center of one of the most high-profile s*xual assault cases in Australian sport, returned to a very different courtroom this week. The St George Illawarra Dragons forward stood quietly in Wollongong District Court, watching as the former NSW police officer who nearly derailed his career pleaded for mercy. The confrontation came years after the officer, known only as "Officer A" due to a suppression order, gave false evidence under oath during de Belin’s pre-trial proceedings.The case dates back to 2018, when de Belin and his friend Callan Sinclair were accused of s*xually assaulting a 19-year-old woman. Both men insisted the encounter was consensual, and after two mistrials, the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charges altogether. But while the legal case ended, its consequences rippled through their lives, especially de Belin’s, who was sidelined from the NRL for three years under the league’s no-fault stand-down policy.Now, the focus has shifted to Officer A, who played a huge role in the case’s early stages. The officer accessed de Belin’s seized phone and reviewed over 200 text messages, 190 of which were protected communications between de Belin and his lawyer, Craig Osborne. At a pre-trial hearing in 2020, Officer A swore under oath that the messages were only related to "Dragons business." That statement, as he later admitted, was false.“He deliberately misled the court,” Crown prosecutor Ciro Triscari said during the sentencing hearing. “This represents a serious example of perjury when one considers the position occupied by the offender in question. The proceedings are serious criminal proceedings where the liberty of individuals was at stake.”De Belin’s legal team argued that the breach of privilege compromised his right to a fair trial, though their request to stay proceedings was ultimately rejected. Despite the eventual dismissal of charges, the damage was already done.Officer A has since pleaded guilty to perjury and now awaits sentencing on September 12. His lawyer, Dr. Peggy Dwyer, argued that he was suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time. “There can be no doubt he was suffering from PTSD in February and that it impacted his capacity to give evidence,” she told the court. She described the false statement as “an innocent mistake… made in a moment of panic.”But prosecutors aren’t buying it. They countered with evidence suggesting Officer A’s mental health didn’t impair his ability to testify truthfully. Instead, they claim it was a calculated decision to mislead the court and protect the prosecution’s case.Also Read: Donald Trump signs executive order to create 2028 Olympics task force for LA GamesWhile Officer A seeks leniency, perhaps serving time via an Intensive Correction Order, de Belin hasn’t spoken publicly about the hearing yet.