Rugby player’s alleged words to underage girl
A promising young rugby union player allegedly told an underage teenage girl, whom he is accused of engaging in sexual acts with, that she should delete their social media messages after her parents found out, a court has been told.
Connor Lind, 23, is facing trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court, where he has pleaded not guilty to a string of charges and denied engaging in sexual acts with two teenage girls.
The Crown prosecution alleges the former cheerleader engaged in anal, oral and digital sex with one girl who was 14 at the time.
He is also alleged to have put his hand down the pants of the same girl while on the couch at his parents’ Sydney northern beaches home.
The girl was in between grades eight and nine at the time of the alleged offences.
Mr Lind has pleaded not guilty to four counts of having sexual intercourse with a child and one count of intentionally sexually touching a child.
The jury has been told that the 14-year-old alleged victim said when her parents became aware, Mr Lind told her words to the effect of: “We can’t talk, delete these messages.”
During her prerecorded testimony, which was played to the court on Friday, it was put to her that Mr Lind never asked her to delete those message
“False,” the girl said.
Under cross-examination from Mr Lind’s barrister, Lisa-Claire Hutchinson, it was put to her that she never engaged in sexual acts with Mr Lind.
She repeatedly said: “False.”
“You were lying when you told your parents about the sexual things you and Connor did,” Ms Hutchinson put to the girl.
“False,” the girl said.
“You were lying when you told police about the sexual things between you and Connor,” Ms Hutchinson said.
“False,” the girl said once again.
Mr Lind, who was 19 and 20 years old at the time of the alleged offences, has denied having any sexual contact with either of the girls, the court has been told.
He is also alleged to have put his hand down the pants of another 15-year-old girl while sitting in his car at Dee Why beach.
Mr Lind’s defence has denied the allegation and he has pleaded not guilty to one count of having sexual intercourse with a child relating to the girl.
The jury was on Friday also played a police video interview with the second complainant who alleges that Mr Lind put his hand down her pants and touched her vagina without her consent.
The court was told that they were in the front seat of Mr Lind’s red Jeep parked at Dee Why beach when he kissed her.
“It happened so quickly, I don’t remember how it came to us kissing, it happened so fast,” she said.
She said she pulled away before he put his hand in the bottom of her shorts and touched her vagina.
“I was genuinely too scared to try and stop it,” the girl said in the police interview.
The girl told police that Mr Lind asked to pull down her underwear.
When she said “no” he said “I’ll pull them down for you,” the girl told officers.
The girl also told the court he asked her for “just one lick”.
When she was asked by one officer if she wanted him to put his hand up her shorts, she said: “No.”
She told police that while in the car there was no conversation between her and Mr Lind about whether she was consenting to being touched.
She also told the officers that before the incident, he sent her a picture of his penis via Snapchat.
The court was told the two girls were close friends and both became aware of their respective allegations.
Under cross examination from Ms Hutchinson, she said she had discussed with the first alleged victim what she alleged happened in the car with Mr Lind.
She told the court that she gave the other girl the “gist” of her allegation, but did not go into great detail.
“Did you convey that you were not consenting,” Ms Hutchinson asked.
“Yes,” the girl said.
Mr Lind was arrested at Sutherland Police Station in August 2021.
Ms Hutchinson has argued that at the time Mr Lind was a promising rugby union player and university student and he had “every reason to uphold the law”.
The trial before Judge John Pickering continues.
