South Sydney star lands in hot water as victim presses ahead with police action.
Katie Lewis, the woman who has accused South Sydney star Ben Te’o of assaulting her, said she is will be giving a police statement over the incident with the view of pressing charges.
The NRL has been plunged into another incident of violence against women after Lewis this week revealed she was left with a broken cheekbone after Te’o allegedly assaulted her at the home of Brisbane player Corey Norman.
Te’o has denied any wrongdoing in the matter after reporting the incident the day after it happened, and he has not been stood down by the Rabbtiohs in the last four weeks and is expected to play against Cronulla this weekend.
Lewis said she is only pressing charges a month after the fact, because she not feels she has a support network around her to try and seek justice against a high-profile target.
“I didn’t press any charges, I was confused at the time. I was up there by myself,” Lewis said.
“So I guess not having your family around you it was very daunting to be dealing with it by yourself and I guess getting information from different people.
“Now you’ve got the support from some people and then you have other people that are concerned for you in regards to what it will do to me mentally.”
It remains to be seen if the incident and its fallout will affect Te’o’s chances of being selected for Queensland ahead of this year’s State of Origin series.
Queensland Rugby League chief executive Rob Moore said selectors had the green light to pick Te’o if they wished for the series in spite of the NRL launching an investigation of the incident and why it took a month for it to become public.
“We understand there is an investigation by the NRL. Like the NRL, we don’t as yet have the facts and until they become available, we are unable to comment further,” Moore said.
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