South Australia greyhound racing figure charged with sexual assault offence
A prominent South Australian greyhound racing identity has been arrested and charged with a sexual assault offence.
Racing industry figures have expressed concern that the man attended Greyhound Racing South Australia’s Adelaide Cup event earlier this month, after the charges had been laid against him. His attendance at the Cup risked placing him in close proximity with his alleged victim, who was at the industry event as a participant in the racing industry.
Racing industry participants have reported to this publication that the man is expected to appear in the Murray Bridge Magistrates Court on December 1. He was bailed in late September, after South Australia Police attended his address in the Adelaide Plains Council area.
The man is registered as a dog trainer with the state dog racing regulator, Greyhound Racing South Australia.
Contacted for comment, Greyhound Racing South Australia Chief Executive Matthew Corby refused to say whether the company had taken any action to protect industry participants or members of the public attending their dog race events in the wake of the case, but his spokesperson, Matthew Watson, who is employed as Greyhound Racing SA’s Marketing Manager, did provide a written statement.
“Although we have not been notified that the allegations relate to a Greyhound Racing SA facility or event,” Watson wrote, “we have taken all appropriate steps that are within our powers under the rules of racing, to give effect to the bail conditions set by the police.”
“Given this is a matter before the courts, it is inappropriate for Greyhound Racing SA to comment further on the matter.”
When contacted for clarification on the nature of the charges against the greyhound racing identity, neither South Australia Police nor the Office of the Director for Public Prosecutions (DPP) would confirm any information about the case.
A spokesperson for the DPP stated that being requested to confirm or deny basic details of the case amounted to the provision of “legal advice”, writing: “We do not mean to be difficult, but I have been advised that we cannot provide you with what is, in effect, legal advice. You will have to consult your own lawyers about your questions.”
The DPP refused to confirm or deny, even on an anonymous basis, if a man matching the suburb, names, dates and other details provided to the Office by this publication had been charged with any sexual assault offence. They refused to state whether the charges laid against him had been classified as rape or sexual assault, and refused to confirm the court date reported by members of the racing industry.
South Australia Police was similarly secretive about the case.
Staff member at Gawler Police Station stated last week they "could not confirm details over the phone", and referred further enquiries to the Nuriootpa Police Station, which acts as headquarters for the Barossa region's Crime Investigation Branch.
Staff at the Nuriootpa Police Station also declined to confirm any information about the case, and referred enquiries to the SA Police Media Section in the Adelaide CBD.
A spokesperson for the SAPOL media team, who identified himself only as “Matt”, requested a list of details held by this publication about the case to be passed on to investigators for assessment and potential confirmation. The following day, on receipt of those details, South Australia Police changed tack and refused to confirm or deny whether any details to be reported were accurate.
“I have spoken with my manager,” the SA Police spokesperson wrote in an email last week, “and he has advised that you will need to submit a freedom of information application for any info [sic] that can be divulged.”
When asked if SA Police had any objection to this publication reporting their refusal to acknowledge media enquiries about the alleged incident of sexual assault, the spokesperson wrote: “Please be mindful of the sensitive matter that you are reporting on and how it may affect future court outcomes.”
It is common practice for South Australia Police to inform the public of incidents, arrests, thefts, criminal charges and other incidents affecting the community by publishing the age, gender, and residential suburb of any alleged offenders, along with details of each offence allegedly committed, in either formal press releases or weekly incident lists.
No releases or records matching the alleged incident report or charges against the greyhound racing identity were published by SA Police in their Weekly Reports for Gawler, Nuriootpa, the Murraylands or Adelaide’s Northern Metropolitan Region from the past month.
South Australia Police also regularly confirm details of active investigations and sexual assault charges to large media corporations. Earlier this year, SA Police provided Murdoch’s Adelaide Advertiser with information on child sexual assault charges they were pursuing against one of the state’s most prominent horse racing industry figures.
South Australia Police refused to address enquiries from this publication regarding why they had not notified the public of any details, even anonymised details, of the recent incident of sexual assault alleged to have been perpetrated by the SA greyhound racing identity.