‘Flashback’: NRL star trial witness says he dreamt of conversation

A man has told a court he had a “flashback” during a dream that Jack de Belin’s alleged rape victim came up to him on a nightclub dancefloor to say the footballer was “so hot”and she wanted to “get with him”.

St George Illawarra Dragons forward Mr de Belin and his co-accused Callan Sinclair are standing trial at Downing Centre District Court accused of sexually assaulting the woman, then 19, after the trio met at Wollongong’s popular Mr Crown bar during a Christmas pub crawl in 2018.

Their trial has heard allegations from the woman that she felt “dead inside” and was crying as the men swapped positions forcing vaginal, oral and anal sex on her at a North Wollongong unit.

Jack de Belin arrives at court on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De MarchiSource:News Corp Australia

Mr de Belin, 30, and Mr Sinclair, 23, of the Shellharbour Sharks, have both pleaded not guilty to five counts of aggravated sexual assault and maintain the encounter with the woman in the early hours of December 9, 2018 was consensual.

On Monday, the jury heard from witness Jared Barnes who came forward to police in March this year to say he ran into the woman in a downstairs smoking area at Mr Crown about 10.40pm on December 8, 2018, just hours before the incident unfolded.

The court heard the gym instructor said in his statement the woman asked him at that time, “Have you guys seen Jack de Belin is here?” before saying, “He’s so hot. I want to get with him”.

In court, however, Mr Barnes said he had a “flashback” while sleeping only a few weeks ago in which he remembered the woman making those comments later in the night on the upstairs dancefloor.

“This is how I remembered it, because of that dream,” he said.

Crown prosecutor David Scully asked Mr Barnes if he had changed his version of events in court after he learned Mr de Belin did not arrive at the club until 11.22pm.

Callan Sinclair denies any wrongdoing. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De MarchiSource:News Corp Australia

The court was told Mr Barnes gave two statements to police, and was shown CCTV footage before making the second statement on April 1 this year.

Mr Scully put to him that, after he’d seen the CCTV footage when giving a second statement, he knew with “absolute certainty” his account “just could not have happened”.

“It was an impossibility,” the prosecutor said.

Mr Barnes told the court he didn’t change his version of events in the second statement because: “I thought I had to stick to the same statement, I thought I wasn’t able to make changes.”

The court heard Mr Barnes was shown CCTV from that night showing him speaking with the woman twice, once downstairs and later on the dancefloor upstairs, and also getting his picture taken with Mr de Belin.

In his evidence Mr Barnes said there was a third interaction with the woman, in which she made the comments about Mr de Belin, that he remembered through the flashback.

Mr Scully put to the witness that he was lying about his interactions with the woman: “This whole conversation that you’ve given evidence (of) … it just didn’t happen did it?”

Mr Barnes replied “it did happen”, saying he had always remembered the conversation but became “confused about where it was”.

He told the court he was “70 per cent sure” about the woman saying “I wanna get with” Mr de Belin.

He said he was reassured by his mother because he relayed the conversation to her shortly after it happened, before talking to police.

Earlier in the trial Mr Barnes’ claims were put to the woman, which she denied and maintained that she did not find either Mr de Belin nor Mr Sinclair attractive.

“In my home town in Wollongong everyone talks and makes up rumours. So I don’t believe what anyone says,” the woman told the court.

The court has heard the woman met Mr de Belin and Mr Sinclair on the upstairs dancefloor before being taken back to the unit.

The trial before Judge Nicole Noman continues.

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