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7 months ago
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Wallabies star Kurtley Beale is asking the state to cover his six-figure legal costs after he was acquitted of sexually assaulting a woman at a Sydney bar.
The 35-year-old faced a jury trial in the NSW District Court earlier this year after he pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual touching.
After a two-week trial, the jurors took less than an hour to determine the rugby star had not groped a woman's bottom at the Beach Road bar in Bondi on December 17, 2022.
They also rejected the woman's claims that Mr Beale forced her to engage in oral sex in the men's bathroom.
Beale (pictured outside court in February) wants the state to cover his huge legal costs after he was found not guilty of rape earlier this year
The 35-year-old former Wallabies star has returned to the field for Randwick (pictured)
The award-winning rugby player had consistently denied the allegations and told reporters he was glad the 'truth has come out' after he was cleared of the charges.
'I have always maintained my innocence,' he said.
'My family and I have suffered a terrible year.'
On Friday, the rugby star's legal team will return to the NSW District Court to apply for the NSW Department of Public Prosecutions to pick up Mr Beale's legal tab.
Mr Beale's barrister Margaret Cunneen SC and solicitor Lauren MacDougall will argue the state should pay their client's hefty legal costs after failing to prove its case.
It's understood Mr Beale's legal bill runs to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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