St George Illawarra Dragons youngster Tristan Sailor has been granted strict conditional bail on an aggravated sexual assault charge amid allegations he drugged his alleged victim with a powerful sedative before violently raping her in her home after an encounter at a hotel in Bondi.
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Police will allege Sailor's actions were "predatory and planned" after the pair returned to her Wolli Creek home just after 9pm last Saturday.
She was found in an injured, "unresponsive" state by a friend about 90 minutes later and allegedly told police her last memory of the night was the Uber ride she and Sailor took back to her home.
Sailor was arrested at the Wollongong home he shares with his mother and father, NRL great Wendell Sailor, on Saturday morning and charged with aggravated sexual assault inflicting actual bodily harm.
In court on Sunday, Sailor's lawyer Richard Pontello, tendered affidavits from five people in support of his client's bail application, including statements authored by ex-Dragons coach Paul McGregor, former Queensland legend Darren Lockyer, and Sailor's manager, David Riolo.
"You will see the allegations have come as complete shock to those who know him well," Mr Pontello said.
He said Sailor agreed he'd had sex with the alleged victim that night but denied it was without consent and further denied he had given the woman any drugs.
Sorry I was out, we were playing drinking games. And yes, we did have sex, I asked you and [your friend] so everything was sweet. I pulled out and everything so it was sweet.
He read a series of text message exchanges between Sailor and the woman from the following day which he claimed demonstrated that his client had "specifically sought and obtained" her consent.
Complainant: "What happened last night?"
Sailor: "Sorry I had to go. How are you feeling today?"
Complainant: "Tristan, I don't remember anything after the Uber to mine. Need to know for peace of mind, what happened, did we have sex?"
Sailor: "Sorry I was out, we were playing drinking games. And yes, we did have sex, I asked you and [your friend] so everything was sweet. I pulled out and everything so it was sweet."
Mr Pontello claimed the messages, which he said the prosecution would be relying on to establish his client's guilt, "in reality establishes his innocence".
"[They are] totally inconsistent with the suggestion [of rape]," he said.
Police opposed Sailor's release on bail, noting the seriousness of the allegations against him.
"There's forensic and complaint evidence that confirms the injuries sustained, which are consistent with the allegations made by the complainant," prosecutor Sergeant Shannon Ryan said.
He said the sedative doxylamine had been discovered in the woman's blood stream during a subsequent hospital visit the day after the alleged assault.
"This sedative was given to her without her knowledge," he said, telling the court the woman was later found in an unresponsive state inside her home by a friend.
"She was left, essentially discarded, in an extremely vulnerable state.
"The consequences could have been much more serious without the intervention of her friend."
Sgt Ryan told the court there was sufficient evidence in the case to establish that Sailor "poses a risk to the complainant and the community in general for this type of offence".
However, Registrar Cally D'Arcy agreed to grant Sailor strict conditional bail after hearing he had no prior criminal record and strong ties to the community.
As part of his bail, he must live with his parents in a unit in Wollongong, abide by a nighttime curfew, not attend any licensed premises and only have one mobile phone.
He is also banned from entering the suburb of Wolli Creek or contacting any prosecution witnesses.
The case will return to Sutherland Local Court on December 3.