Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Victoria Police are reportedly preparing to interview Sydney Swans players as part of an investigation into sexual assault claims involving exotic dancers at a Melbourne hotel.
According to a report by the Herald Sun, detectives from the Victorian Sexual Crimes Squad could travel to Sydney as early as this week to speak to the players.
The players named in the report are Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon.
The report has not been confirmed by Victoria Police, which told The Nightly it had no updates to provide when contacted on Tuesday.
Although Heeney has been the focus of the investigation to date, other players could also be questioned under caution about his activities at the hotel, according to reports.
No charges have been laid and the players have denied any criminal wrongdoing.
The investigation centres on an alleged incident at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel following the Swans’ win over Essendon at the MCG on August 16.
According to allegations previously reported, three exotic dancers were booked to perform for a group of Swans players in the early hours of August 17.
All three women are understood to have engaged lawyers in relation to the incident, with two represented by Carbone Lawyers and a third represented by Slater and Gordon.
The five Swans players were suspended by the club for the remainder of the season for breaching club standards.
Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich addressed the media days after the incident and said the breaches involved “staying out late… drinking, it was continuing to continue their night, it was bringing women back to the hotel.”
He said the conduct was “a long way short of what we expect of our players and we’re holding them to a really high standard, but they were well short of anywhere near that standard.”
The suspensions were separate from the sexual assault allegations, which remain under police investigation.
This masthead is not suggesting the players are guilty of any wrongdoing, just that they are assisting police with enquiries.
Victoria Police detectives have also reportedly taken voluntary witness statements from four Swans officials, coach Dean Cox, head of football Leon Cameron, communications boss Tom Chadwick and head of wellbeing and development Brett Kirk.
None of the officials were in the hotel room when the alleged assaults occurred.
The investigation is ongoing, with police expected to assess the available evidence before deciding whether any charges should be laid.
The reported development comes as Swans vice-captain Isaac Heeney appears to have deleted or deactivated his Instagram account.
The 30-year-old’s verified account, which had more than 115,000 followers, disappeared from the platform on Monday night.
It is unclear whether Heeney has temporarily deactivated his account or permanently deleted it.
