Source : the age
A woman who alleges she was the victim of a sexual assault during a late-night party with five Sydney Swans players in a Melbourne hotel room has hired a lawyer to prepare civil legal action.
Law firm Slater and Gordon confirmed on Saturday morning that it had been engaged to investigate a potential civil claim on behalf of the woman, and lawyer Jackson Pannam said the woman was “trying to navigate an incredibly traumatic experience”.
He said his client called the police “immediately after what had happened” in the early hours of Monday morning at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel.
“She’s provided a statement and she’s continuing to assist the police with their investigation,” Pannam said.
“Whatever the outcome of the criminal investigation, we intend to explore other avenues for our clients to seek justice, including through civil remedies, we will be putting all of the relevant parties on notice in due course.”
Pannam told reporters the woman’s complaint to police was about “alleged sexual assaults”.
A police spokesperson, in a statement on Saturday morning, said Sexual Crimes Squad detectives continued “to investigate a report of a sexual assault”.
“The exact circumstances of the matter are still being established and a number of people have been spoken to,” the spokesperson said.
“As the investigation remains active and ongoing, we will not be commenting further including providing information on the specific circumstances of the matter, movements of detectives and any statements or interviews taken.”
This masthead has previously reported that star player Isaac Heeney is at the centre of the police inquiry.
Five Swans players – Heeney, Chad Warner, James Jordon, Riley Bice and Nick Blakey – were stood down for the rest of the season for breaching the club’s standards.
On Friday, a lawyer representing the other two women who were present at the hotel on Monday described what occurred as “demeaning, abhorrent and simply not moral or acceptable”.
“These women were subjected to the most disgusting actions and behaviour I have ever heard about in my 28 years as a lawyer,” Carbone Lawyers head of personal injury and litigation John Karantzis told 3AW.
Karantzis also claimed there were “even a few leaders in that room” along with the five Swans players.
Pannam described those comments as unhelpful, and said the woman he represented had not yet spoken to the media and wanted privacy.
“I’m not in the business of ranking the types of cases that I’ve been involved in,” he said.
“Certainly, I don’t think that’s helpful.”
The Swans have denied there were any other club officials or staff members in the hotel room.
“The Sydney Swans supports the action taken by Victoria Police in releasing today’s statement regarding the investigation,” the club said on Saturday.
“The Sydney Swans categorically confirms that no member of staff is involved in the investigation. This includes being in the hotel room central to the police investigation.
“The club reiterates that no player has been interviewed by police at this stage.”
Pannam, when asked who his client intended to launch legal action against, said: “A claim for compensation can be made against anyone who has caused or contributed to someone suffering injury, harm, damage. It’s very early days, and we are considering our options.
“We’ll be writing to the relevant parties in due course with a view to putting them on notice of what our intentions are.”
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Lachlan Abbott is a crime reporter at The Age. He was previously a city reporter and covered breaking news.Connect via email.
