Naughty boy. Back in court today......denies the groping..but says the woman was rejecting his advances from the time he got there....
A former NRL star has admitted in court he had intentions of being intimate with a woman at her home, but denies ever kissing or groping her.
Former NRL star George Burgess went to a woman’s house with the intention of being intimate with her while dropping off a jersey for a charity event, but denies ever groping her, a court has heard.
George Burgess has 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.
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.
The 31-year-old took the witness stand on Monday where he told the court he was being “cheeky and friendly” with the woman while at her home, but said it was “nothing more than that”.
When asked by prosecutor Adrian Walsh if he intended to be intimate with the woman, Mr Burgess said: “possibly, yeah”.
Mr Burgess, who was married at the time, made concessions he was being “flirty” with the woman and asked her to “stay and be naughty” with him.
During the hearing last year, the woman told the court she felt “violated” when the former NRL star had attempted to kiss her moments after handing over the jersey.
She offered him a cup of tea to “try to defuse the situation”.
“I opened the cupboard and he’s turned around (and) grabbed me on the bottom,” the woman told police in body-worn vision played in court.
“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 court heard Mr Burgess was asked if he was still married and he responded: “yes, but you know how it is”.
Mr Burgess said: “Come on, just five minutes, stay and be naughty with me.”
He denied kissing the woman or grabbing her bottom, but said he had put his hand on her back while she was making him a cup of tea “just 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 said.
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 ten years, nothing has ever happened between us but something should”.
He conceded he had noticed the woman was “a bit uncomfortable”, prompting him to leave.
When asked if the woman had been “rejecting” his advances from the moment he arrived, Mr Burgess said “yes”.
The court was told Mr Burgess sent the woman a “horny devil emoji” after leaving her house, which she ignored.
She later sent a message 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 ten years, she thought she could trust you in her own home,” Mr Walsh said.
Mr Burgess told the court he was “gutted and shocked” by the message.
He replied saying he was “so sorry” and had never “in a million years” thought he had offended her.
Mr Burgess told the court he wanted to make sure the woman was “ok” and to diffuse the situation.
The prosecutor asked: “You were trying to water it down so it would protect your family and your career”.
“Yes,” he replied.
Earlier on Monday, a friend of the woman took to the witness stand and spoke of the moment he received a call from the woman, who was “quite shaken up”.
The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sat in the front of the public gallery.
“She is quite a bubbly talkative person, she seemed a bit unsettled just from hearing her voice,” the friend told the court.
When asked by police Mr Walsh where Mr Burgess allegedly touched the woman, the friend said “on the bum”.
The woman threw her head back and sobbed before she stood up.
She continued to cry as she burst out of the courtroom.
He told the court the woman was “shaken up” and didn’t know how to handle the situation.
When the woman took to the witness stand last year, she teared up telling the court the interaction left her “terrified, helpless and scared”.
“I was really uncomfortable. This was a six foot man, double my weight, that has encroached on my home. I was terrified … I didn’t know what could happen at this point,” the woman told the court.
She told the court she felt “violated” when Mr Burgess messaged her with a purple devil emoji after leaving.
When asked how the emoji made her feel, the woman told the court she felt “dirty, absolutely putrid”.
Mr Burgess, who played last season for the St George Illawarra Dragons, announced his retirement last year.
But he has announced he will return to play with the Cairns Brothers in the Cairns and District Rugby League competition.
Mr Burgess did not answer questions from media as he left court on Monday.
Magistrate Emma Manea will reserve her decision to May 10.
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