SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia international Kurtley Beale has pleaded not guilty to three charges of sexual assault stemming from an alleged incident in a bar near Bondi Beach last year, local media reported on Thursday.
The 34-year-old, who was suspended from all rugby after his arrest last December, has been charged with one count of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual touching.
Beale, who is on bail, will next face the court in central Sydney in mid-July when a trial date will be set, Australian Associated Press reported.
“I’m not guilty,” Beale told reporters outside the court.
“The allegation has been falsely (brought) against me and the truth will come out.”
Reuters was not immediately able to obtain comment from Beale or his lawyers.
The utility back, who has played 95 times for his country, returned to Australia late last year with the New South Wales Waratahs after playing for two years in France.
Beale would have been hoping to play at a fourth World Cup for the Wallabies in France later this year, but that now looks unlikely.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
