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Danushka Gunathilaka
A Sri Lankan cricket star who has been stranded in Australia for more than eight months will be allowed to travel domestically after his bail conditions were eased.
Danushka Gunathilaka wore black pants and a black heavy jacket when he appeared in Sydney Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday to ask the court for leniency on his bail.
He has previously pleaded not guilty to raping a woman in her Sydney home while he was in the country for the T20 World Cup last year.
The cricketer was arrested and charged in November last year as he prepared to fly home to Sri Lanka with his teammates, and he has since been prevented from leaving the country.
He was granted bail on 17 November with strict conditions that he surrender his passport and not approach any international point of departure.
On Tuesday, the 32-year-old asked the court to vary his bail to allow him to travel within Australia on two occasions this month.
Acting Judge Graeme Henson agreed to allow Gunathilaka to suspend the prohibition on approaching international departure points for four days this week and four days at the end of the month. He stipulated that the cricketer must notify police at least 48 hours in advance with the duration of his trip, the location, and an itinerary if he plans to travel within Australia.
However, the 32-year-old is still required to report to police three times a week and only allowed to possess one mobile phone.
He is prohibited from using dating sites or apps due to the allegations against him.
Police allege the cricketer matched with a woman on a dating app and chatted with her a number of times online before they met.
The pair had drinks in the city before they went back to the woman’s home in the eastern suburbs of Sydney around 11pm, according to police. Gunathilaka allegedly ignored the woman’s request to “take it slow” and instead sexually assaulted the 29-year-old woman in her home.
Police allege the cricketer engaged in “forceful” intercourse with the woman during which he choked the woman three times.
The woman told police she was “too afraid to do anything” and she had only consented to sexual intercourse with the cricket star if he agreed to wear a condom.
The woman later found the condom on the floor beside the bed, according to police.
The court was told the sexual assault charge related to “stealthing”, the non-consensual removal of a condom during sex.
He is due to face a judge-alone trial in September. – (NCA NewsWire)
