Bomb drops on Darius Boyd

By Tim Barrow
Updated November 5 2012 - 8:36pm, first published May 17 2009 - 11:12am
Darius Boyd
Darius Boyd

He is the star St George Illawarra recruit who moved to Wollongong from Brisbane hoping to put the sexual assault allegations which dogged him last year behind him.But today the incident, which happened in a Brisbane nightclub last September, has come back to haunt talented 21-year-old Dragons fullback Darius Boyd.In the wake of the group sex scandal which engulfed rugby league identity Matthew Johns last week, the woman involved with the three Broncos players in a toilet cubicle has spoken out about her ordeal.

  • Full coverage of The St George Illawarra DragonsThe 24-year-old claims she consented to joining Boyd's then Broncos team-mate Karmichael Hunt in the bathroom that night, before Boyd and Queensland State of Origin forward Sam Thaiday also joined them.She lodged the sexual assault complaint with police the next day.The players, as part of a six-week police investigation, made statements saying they all had consensual sex with her.On November 10, police ended the investigation, saying no charges would be laid because of insufficient evidence.Since then, Boyd has moved to the Illawarra to play with the Dragons, where his on-field form has been brilliant.He represented Australia in the Test against New Zealand back in Brisbane just 10 days ago.But the league world has again been rocked by off-field drama after Johns was named on ABC's Four Corners program as the man at the centre of a group sex incident in Christchurch in 2002, which also involved 11 other Sharks players.Johns was stood down from his duties with the Nine Network as a result.Now Boyd, Thaiday and Hunt have been called on by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh to apologise to the woman involved that night in Brisbane.Back in January on his arrival in Wollongong, Boyd was relaxed and comfortable by the beach as he spoke to the Mercury.Naturally shy in the spotlight, Boyd - like Johns - had said he was regretful for the trauma the investigation had caused his family and wanted to put the incident behind him.But there was no apology to the woman involved."That was the toughest thing, just family and that," Boyd said back in January."I didn't want to let them down, but I just want to move on and forget about it and push forward from here."It was just one of those things that happened and I can't take it back now."I just move on and make sure it doesn't happen again."
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