St Kilda players at training last week. Two players from the club have been investigated - and cleared - over a liaison with a schoolgirl that began after round one this season. Photo: Angela Wylie
TWO St Kilda footballers accused of having sex with a 17-year-old schoolgirl who became pregnant were yesterday cleared by both police and the AFL of any wrongdoing.
And AFL fears that the players had abused their position during a school community camp visit were alleviated when it became clear the pair had not spoken with the girl in any meaningful way during that visit.
The Saints visited the girl's Frankston high school in February as part of the club's community camp initiative. The girl, a year 12 student, was interviewed yesterday by police and the AFL and said she had not met the players until late March in a Sydney nightclub after the Saints' first-round victory over the Swans.
She said the relationship between her and the players was consensual. She was also questioned by police regarding her relationship with a young Collingwood player. The St Kilda footballers became implicated when the girl reported her pregnancy to her school principal.
The school principal reported the incident to the Victorian department of education and the department of human services, which alerted Victoria Police. Early yesterday, the two players were interviewed in the offices of player manager Ricky Nixon, who represents one of the two, and by Brett Clothier, the AFL's manager of integrity services, as well as Sue Clarke, cultural strategy and education manager.
They also interviewed the student and several other witnesses, as well as examining telephone records of all concerned. Nixon briefed SEN commentator Tim Watson, who early yesterday reported on radio that the student lived with a 27-year-old woman - the school denies this - who had accompanied her to Sydney and also met the players. Nixon's briefing also suggested no group sex was involved.
The teenage student yesterday told the AFL that she did not converse with the players during their school visit, but that she had been introduced to them for the first time after the Sydney game and continued the relationship back in Melbourne.
The girl told police and the AFL that she had told them that she was from the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra and that she was 19. The players confirmed to the AFL yesterday they had no idea she was a high school student, or that she was so young.
The league said it would not reveal the names of the St Kilda players involved because it believed they had done nothing unlawful, nor anything that warranted sanctions. The Age has chosen not to name the footballers, both senior St Kilda players.
The AFL's Brian Walsh told The Age: ''We name people when we've sanctioned them in some way. In this case, from extensive investigation with all parties, there is no suggestion that they have done anything unlawful, or that they've done anything that would cause concern about their actions during a school visit.''
St Kilda said in a statement last night: ''Phone records reviewed thus far by the AFL confirm that there was no contact made to the teenage female prior to the match in Sydney on 27th March.
''Victoria Police have confirmed to the AFL that they have interviewed the teenage female and will be taking no action.
''The AFL has interviewed the teenage female and confirmed that her story independently supports the statements made by the players.''
Victoria Police also told the AFL that it was satisfied that nothing unlawful had transpired in a sexual liaison that occurred independently of St Kilda's community camp.
The AFL Players' Association chief executive Matt Finnis also met the St Kilda footballers after talks with their club boss Michael Nettlefold.
St Kilda footballers Stephen Milne and Leigh Montagna were investigated for sexual assault but not charged after an incident with two women in 2004. Neither of those two players were involved in this case. Andrew Lovett, who joined the Saints at the end of last season, was charged with rape following an incident on Christmas Eve last year and was later sacked by the club.
The AFLPA said last night: ''We are pleased that this issue has been handled both thoroughly and in a timely manner by the AFL and support its conclusion that this is now a private matter between the parties.''
The AFL's football operations boss, Adrian Anderson, said yesterday: ''The AFL's concern in relation to this matter was whether any AFL player had acted inappropriately during the course of a school visit. This was not the case.''
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