A woman who accused George Burgess of sexual touching broke down in tears in court and berated a magstrate after the former NRL player was cleared of groping her while dropping off a jersey for a charity event.
The former St George Illawarra Dragons forward admitted to going to the home of the woman, whom he had known for about a decade, after agreeing to provide a signed jersey for charity.
As the 32-year-old Mr Burgess dialled into the Downing Centre Local Court via audiovisual link, magistrate Emma Manea told the court that the former NRL player had attended the woman’s house for just 11 minutes from 10.24am to 10.35am.
During his evidence earlier this year, Mr Burgess admitted he had intentions to be intimate with the woman, despite being married at the time, and admitted to being “flirty”, asking her to “stay and be naughty” with him.
But he pleaded not guilty to a single charge of sexually touching another person without consent while at the woman’s Mascot home in Sydney in March 2022.
He told the court that he was only being “cheeky and friendly” with the woman but it was “nothing more than that” and denied squeezing the woman’s bottom.
Mr Burgess was found not guilty by the magistrate, who told the court she believed his evidence.
“I do not accept all of his evidence but I don’t reject it. I have difficulty accepting his evidence, but I think some of it to be true,” Ms Manea said.
“In accordance, I must acquit. I have doubt and that must flow to the accused, and he’s not guilty.”
The complainant, who was sitting at the front of the public gallery with supporters, asked the magistrate “what have you done for women?” and became emotional.
Visibly devastated, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told media it was a “sad day for women”.
She said: “This was supposed to be me standing up for the people that couldn’t stand up.”
The woman said she had turned her life around to make the complaint, and it “sucks” trying to “stand up and do the right thing”.
“What hope do women have?” the woman said.
During the first day of the hearing in October 2023, the woman told the court she felt “violated” when Mr Burgess attempted to kiss her moments after handing over the jersey.
She offered him a cup of tea to “try to defuse the situation”, the court was told, but when she opened the cupboard the woman said he allegedly “grabbed” her on the bottom..
“I froze on the inside and was just looking at the tea. He put a hand either side of my body and pressed right up against me. … I told him, ‘this is not going to happen’,” the woman said.
Mr Burgess was asked if he was still married and he responded: “Yes, but you know how it is”, before saying “come on, just five minutes, stay and be naughty with me.”
The magistrate said Burgess’ evidence “painted him in an unfavourable light, as someone who was making a move on a woman whilst married with children”.
Ms Manea told the court: “He was frank and forthright…the submission makes his evidence more plausible.”
Mr Burgess said he put his hand on her back while she was making him a cup of tea “to be friendly”.
“She went over to the kitchen bench and I sort of came behind her to see what tea she was using because I like Yorkshire tea,” Mr Burgess told the court in March.
The court was told the woman said: “I’m not that kind of girl, I wouldn’t do this to another woman.”
While sitting on the lounge, Mr Burgess admitted to telling her: “We’ve known each other 10 years, nothing has ever happened between us but something should.”
In court Mr Burgess conceded he noticed the woman was “a bit uncomfortable”, prompting him to leave.
The court was told Mr Burgess sent the woman a “horny devil emoji” after leaving, which she ignored, but later messaged saying she was “really uncomfortable” with what happened.
“She said that you put a huge cloud over such a nice thing that you did in respect to the jersey and the fact you had known each other 10 years, she thought she could trust you in her own home,” Police prosecutor Adrian Walsh said to Mr Burgess during his evidence.
Mr Burgess told the court that he was “gutted and shocked” by the message and replied saying he was “so sorry”, as he wanted to “defuse” the situation.
The prosecutor asked: “You were trying to water it down so it would protect your family and your career.”
“Yes,” Mr Burgess replied.
The woman was emotional while giving evidence in October, telling the court she was “petrified” during the interaction and wanted to get Mr Burgess out of her house.
She said she was “uncomfortable” because Mr Burgess was a “six foot man”, double her weight and he had “encroached” on her home.
Mr Burgess, who played for the St George Illawarra Dragons in 2022, announced his retirement that year.
But he returned to win a premiership with the Cairns Brothers in the Cairns and District Rugby League competition last season before retiring again.