Danushka Gunathilaka allowed back on social media after court ruling

Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka, accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met on Tinder, can use Facebook and Instagram again after having his bail altered, Australian media reported.

Gunathilaka, 31, applied to vary his bail at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday.

He is facing four counts of sexual intercourse without consent and has not yet entered a plea.

Gunathilaka was initially banned from using Tinder and other social media platforms when he was granted bail in November 2022.

His bail conditions were altered in February so he could return to WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging platform owned by Facebook-parent Meta and popular in his home country, and go out at night.

The latest alteration to his bail allows Gunathilaka to use his existing Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The court was previously told the alleged victim was being harassed on social media and had to close her accounts.

Gunathilaka’s case has been adjourned for three weeks so the prosecution can gather more information.

After matching on Tinder, meeting up for a date and heading back to her home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the complainant alleges the cricketer refused to wear a condom and choked her three times.

The batsman allegedly forced himself on top of the woman, who cannot be identified, when the pair moved to the bedroom.

Police claim the woman was uncomfortable and agreed to continue with sexual activity only if Gunathilaka wore a condom.

‘He protested but eventually agreed,’ police allege in the court documents.

The woman told police she later found the condom on the floor beside the bed.

Police allege the woman was ‘in shock’ and did not consent to sex without a condom.

She again asked him to use a condom but he refused and instead forcefully engaged in sexual activity, according to police claims.

During the several hours he remained at the woman’s home, Gunathilaka allegedly choked the woman multiple times and slapped her on the buttocks.

Police allege the woman was ‘frozen and in shock’ before the international cricketer asked her to order an Uber for him. He left her home just before 1am.

The alleged victim told police she was sore and swollen and unable to work the next day because she ‘couldn’t stop crying’.

Gunathilaka travelled to Australia with Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup team last year but only played in their first game before being ruled out of the competition with a hamstring tear.

He was arrested in the early hours of October 6 at Sydney’s Hyatt Regency Hotel, shortly before he was scheduled to board a flight home with the rest of the team after they bowed out of the tournament.

The cricketer was granted leave to move into a one-bedroom apartment in Sydney’s inner west before Christmas last year.

Gunathilaka previously surrendered his passport and has been ordered not to approach any international departure point as a provision of his bail.

His bail was backed by a $150,000 surety provided by a ‘friend of a friend’ and a further $50,000 provided by the cricketer.

Gunathilaka’s case will return to court on April 27.

(Source: Daily Mail)