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Parramatta five-eighth Dylan Brown is “not proud” of his drunken behaviour at a Sydney nightspot when he groped a woman twice, after drinking so much he could not speak to his lawyer following his arrest.
The 23-year-old NRL player pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two charges of unwanted sexual touching.
“I am not proud of the behaviour I displayed, and I take full responsibility for my actions,” he said in a statement after entering the guilty pleas in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court.
“Additionally, I want to apologise to everyone connected to the club for the negative impact that this incident has caused, and I am committed to learning from this experience.”
Brown was at a Double Bay nightspot on June 3 when he groped a woman on both breasts. The two counts Brown pleaded guilty to were dealt with under a community corrections order for the next 18 months. Three other charges were withdrawn.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Eels CEO Jim Sarantinos said Brown’s behaviour, outlined in court, is unacceptable and against the club’s expectations.
“The club will continue to support Dylan and work with him as he learns from this experience,” Mr Sarantinos said.
The NRL suspended Brown under its no-fault stand down policy, which no longer applies following the finalisation of criminal proceedings.
Its integrity unit will conduct a review, the NRL said in a statement.
Brown and the woman he groped do not know each other, and he had never spoken to her before he grabbed one of her breasts on the dancefloor, agreed facts filed with the court and seen by AAP state.
This made her uncomfortable, however she felt significantly more uncomfortable when Brown returned and grabbed her other breast less than 30 seconds later.
She told security and a friend who worked at the venue and Brown was arrested outside.
Taken to Waverley police station, he was placed in an “investigative time out”.
When his solicitor David Newham arrived, Brown was too drunk to speak to him.
“Mr Brown is deeply sorry for what he did but the matter is now over and he wishes to move on,” Mr Newham said outside court on Wednesday.
Brown has played 95 NRL games for the Eels since joining in 2019 and five international games for his native New Zealand.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
© AAP
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