Witness: she was enjoying everything
By PAUL KENT
April 29, 2004
A VERSION of events that helped to clear the Bulldogs over rape allegations in Coffs Harbour can be revealed in full for the first time.
The most damning evidence were witness statements that only one player was engaged in a sexual act at the pool of Coffs Harbour's Pacific Bay Resort, not six as had been alleged.
While police confirmed they were looking for a "seventh player" during the investigation giving rise to the belief that six were involved in the incident at the pool witnesses were adamant only one player was engaging in sexual activity at the pool.
"Before you actually walked into the enclosed area, I could see into the pool and I saw two people in the pool over in the northeastern corner of the pool. They were actually in the act of sex," a resort worker told Bulldogs officials.
"There was a girl in the water with her back towards me and there was a fellow sitting on the edge of the pool.
"When I walked in, I could see what they were doing so I deliberately let the gate shut loudly to warn them I was there.
"When that happened the girl sought [sic] of rose up out of the water and she pivoted around beside the bloke and just sat there alongside him.
"I could see that she had a white bra on and I'm not sure but she could have been nude or fawn slacks but skin toned."
The Bulldogs believe the incident began at The Plantation Hotel when the woman approached several players and propositioned them.
She was rejected and later approached a club bouncer saying she had been harassed by some players.
However the bouncer challenged her story, saying he had been watching her and that the players had done nothing wrong.
An internal investigation by the club and another by the NRL cleared the players of any wrongdoing while at the hotel, despite several accusations of drunken behaviour being made.
However, later the woman left the hotel with a player and returned to the resort.
Before this happened she was reportedly involved in an incident with a player outside the hotel, where she allegedly told one player she would: "f. . . him."
She then returned to the resort with the first player.
Another witness another resort worker on duty that night claimed to have been stopped by the woman, who was with the player, to ask the direction to the beach.
He said he later saw the woman in the company of two other players at the pool.
This sighting is believed to have occurred after the sexual activity at the pool spotted by the other worker when the Bulldogs say the player asked the woman if she wanted money for a cab fare home.
The player told the club the woman said no and remained in the pool.
"I looked across and saw the girl swimming in the pool breast stroke; she was virtually in the one spot; she looked like she was enjoying everything," the worker said.
"There was nothing unusual about her . . . I also saw [the two different players], or I'm almost sure that they were the same two guys I had seen a short time ago, laying on banana chairs alongside the pool.
"They were laying back like so arms behind head laying on their backs; it was quite mild."
The Bulldogs say the woman later that morning knocked on the door of two hotel rooms occupied by players.
She was told to "f. . . off".
The next the Bulldogs heard about the woman, she had been found in a distressed state claiming to have been gang raped.
Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes said yesterday:
"I have had nothing to say because there was a police investigation going on and we were hopeful that the police would basically discover what we have told them, which they did."
The Bulldogs believe the woman's evidence began to fall apart when police asked her to identify the six players involved.
The club said this was because there were not six players involved and that she randomly selected players when police showed her pictures of players in the NRL media guide.
This was supported by the fact several of the identified players had ironclad alibis.
