St Kilda AFL star Stephen Milne has been charged with four counts of rape following a Victorian police review of allegations made against him in 2004.
Police allege a 19-year-old woman was raped in a darkened bedroom just after midnight at the home of Milne’s team-mate Leigh Montagna after a club family day.
The woman said she and a friend had spent the evening with Montagna and Milne. While the men had been drinking, the woman said she and her friend had not.
Milne, 33, one of the game’s leading goalkickers, was charged in Melbourne yesterday. The charges follow a review of the case ordered by Victorian Deputy Police Commissioner Graham Ashton.
That review, conducted by the Office of Police Integrity, found the original investigation to be flawed. The matter was re-examined by the Victorian sexual crimes squad.
Police interviewed both Milne and Montana after the allegations were made in 2004 but no charges were laid. At the time, the Victorian Department of Public Prosecutions cited insufficient evidence.
Both Milne and Montagna have consistently protested their innocence.
In April 2010, the allegations made headlines again after Milne and former Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse became involved in an on-field argument during which Malthouse allegedly called Milne a “ f—— rapist” during a quarter time break at the MCG. Malthouse was fined $7500 by the AFL.
Later that same year, one of the investigating police went public with a claim that pressure had been put on police during the investigation from within the Victorian police force and by powerful club backers.
The matter is now at the centre of huge controversy in Victoria amid admissions by the police that they had failed in their duty to both the alleged victim and Milne during the initial investigation.
The allegations will finally be tested in court nine years after they were first made.
Just a few weeks ago, Milne told Channel Nine that he and his family were subject to continuing vilification from opposing fans about the incident.
“I cop a few words which aren’t good for anyone,” he said.
“I’ve got a couple of kids and they go to the footy and my family and parents have to cop the abuse. So the sooner we can stamp it out the better.”
Milne is due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 5.
