Matthew Johns to consider legal avenues
DISGRACED Nine Network personality Matthew Johns is believed to be exploring his legal options as holes have begun to emerge in the story of the woman who was involved in a group-sex incident with Cronulla players in 2002.
Johns was stood down indefinitely by Nine last week following a damaging ABC Four Corners report that included accounts from victims of several sex scandals to have blighted rugby league in recent years.
Johns also lost his position onthe Melbourne Storm coaching staff.
While Johns was considering what he could do to save his future, Four Corners issued a statement yesterday to answer several questions or criticisms that have arisen from the story, including concerns it was biased against the football and TV star.
"Four Corners cannot control what is said in the outer reaches of the internet," the statement said. "We can correct some of the rumours and untruths being printed or broadcast in the mainstream media. In doing so we would also like to set the record straight on how the story came into being.
"Matthew Johns spoke to Four Corners on numerous occasions about the events, and we included comments he made in the story.
"He declined, however, to give an on-camera interview to Four Corners and answer more detailed questions about his role in the incident."
Johns's decision to stand down was triggered after a woman, then 19, referred to as "Clare", revealed that up to six players, including Johns, had sex or performed degrading acts on her while another six watched in a room of the Racecourse Hotel outside Christchurch in New Zealand.
She said the incident had left her feeling suicidal and admitted she felt like killing the players who had been involved.
However, it is believed the Johns camp is now looking at its legal options after the woman's character was called into question during the past week.
She has been accused of bragging about the group-sex incident with Johns and other players, and having a threesome with football players the night before it happened.
While Johns has admitted his involvement in the group-sex incident, he has maintained the woman was a willing participant at all times.
This was backed up by a police investigation in 2002 that yielded no charges on the issue that the act had been consensual.
The scandal forced a public apology from NRL chief executive David Gallop and has triggered several sponsors to withdraw their support from the Sharks, costing the club $150,000.
Yesterday's lengthy statement from Four Corners included a plea from Clare to be left alone and an attempt to debunk some of the myths that have been circulating since the program went to air.
These included that Clare had bragged about the incident, that it would have been impossible for a player to climb through the bathroom window to watch, and that no one involved was ever taken out of context.
"Most of the activity that took place during the incident is not disputed," the statement said. "Players and staff gave graphic accounts to police of the sexual activity.
"One player told police that at least one of them had climbed in through the bathroom window and crawled commando-style along the floor of the room.
"As far as Clare's state of mind at the time is concerned, when she made a complaint to Christchurch police a few days after the incident, police noted her distress in their reports.
"She was in tears and found it very difficult to describe what had happened. Days later, the police also noted that some comments she made suggesting she was not distressed were a mechanism for coping with what had happened."
The story has taken its toll on the embattled Cronulla club after it slumped to its eighth consecutive loss for the season last Saturday night.
The club is expected to part company with major backer, LG Electronics - which tips in $1million a year - at the end of the season.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25509188-2722,00.html
