Rape charges against AFL player Tanner Bruhn (pictured) and Patrick Sinnott were dropped after a key witness admitted lying. Photo / Getty Images
Rape charges against an AFL player and his friend have been dropped by prosecutors after a key witness admitted he lied, a court has been told.
Geelong Football Club’s Tanner Bruhn and Patrick Sinnott were previously accused of sexually assaulting and raping a woman in the early hours of February 5, 2023.
But the pair returned before the Geelong Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning as charges were formally withdrawn by prosecutors.
Bruhn had previously been reported in connection with the case as a high-profile man because of a suppression order covering his identity that was varied by magistrate Kimberley Swadesir.
The midfielder sat out the entire 2025 season with a reported finger injury.
The Cats said the club had provided support to Bruhn and he would return to the football programme for pre-season training.
It had previously been alleged the woman was raped after running into the two men while leaving the Geelong strip club, the Alley Cat, on a night out with friends.
Witnesses gave evidence that she was seen later that day in a distressed state after returning home.
The pair were each charged with two counts of sexual touching and one count of compelled sexual touching in February this year.
Bruhn was charged with two further counts of rape and Sinnott was charged with one count of rape.
During a committal hearing last month, a key witness, Harrison Martin, admitted he had lied to police in his statement and in the witness box.
On the first of two days in the witness box, Martin gave an account of going out drinking with the woman before allegedly watching the two men force the woman into her car outside the strip club.
He also claimed he’d been bashed by “the tall one” when attempting to intervene.
Martin was pushed repeatedly on this by Sinnott’s barrister Moya O’Brien, who said “from the moment these gentlemen arrive to the moment they leave” there was constant CCTV surveillance.
“I’m giving you an opportunity not to commit perjury,” she said.
“I’m not lying,” Martin replied.
At the end of the day, the court was told Martin had “raised a matter which requires independent legal advice” with police outside the courtroom.
On September 19, the following day, the court was told Martin had confessed to the officer that he had lied.
“I am sorry. I lied in my police statement about the incident ... Am I going to get in trouble?” he said.
Martin told the court that he had been diagnosed with functional neurological disorder, a disorder that impacts memory and brain functioning and had little memory of the night in question.
He confirmed he’d never been assaulted and had been instructed by the alleged victim on what to say in his statement to police.
“I wouldn’t go as far as a direct ‘this is what you need to say’, it was more a ‘you can’t remember so this is what happened’, if that makes sense,” Martin said.
“The fact is I have no memory of the two accused really even being there in the first place, let alone the night.”
Martin also gave evidence the woman, with whom he was briefly friends, had once told him she had lied about the alleged rape to police.
A second suppression order barring publication of Martin’s admissions was also lifted by Swadesir on Tuesday.
During the committal hearing, it was suggested by O’Brien that the woman had agreed to be paid for sexual services but threatened to report them to police if not paid more money.
Addressing the court, Bruhn’s barrister Dermot Dann, KC, said the case represented a “horrible stain on the criminal justice system”.
Dann said his client had been to “hell and back”, with his career on the line, and had been attacked by people online with seemingly no knowledge of the presumption of innocence in court proceedings.
“All those that did attack him should step away from their keyboards and hang their heads in shame,” he said.
Dann said his client should be “regarded now and forever as someone who was 100% innocent”, with the woman and Martin’s lies being exposed in court.
O’Brien echoed those comments, noting her client had “borne the brunt of publicity in this case”.
All charges against Bruhn and Sinnott were withdrawn, with their legal costs to be paid for by police.
Sinnott bowed his head as the charges were struck out, while Bruhn appeared in court via video leaning against a white wall.
Outside court, Bruhn’s lawyer Anna Balmer said her client was innocent of these crimes and had been falsely accused.
“While he’s thankful the court process has vindicated him, he’s understandably upset he had to go through the court process at all and that it’s taken nearly a year,” she said.
“Tanner wants to see those responsible for making these false allegations held to account and we should all hope Victoria Police properly investigate what appears to be an attempt to pervert the course of justice.”
Balmer said the past year of Bruhn’s life had “been horrible” but he was grateful for the support of family, friends, Geelong Football Club, the AFL Players Association and his manager.
“Tanner wants to put this nightmare behind him and get on with playing football. He’s hopeful for the future and looking forward to getting back to doing what he loves,” she said.
Sinnott’s lawyer Holly Boylan said Tuesday’s outcome hopefully marked the end of a difficult chapter of her client’s life.
“The allegations were serious and the accompanying publicity placed an extraordinary burden on him and those close to him; the impact has been deep and far-reaching,” she said.
“Patrick has always denied the allegations and defended his innocence.”
In a statement, the Cats said: “Until today, a court-imposed suppression order has been in place for the duration of these legal proceedings prohibiting any public comment.
“While legal proceedings have been ongoing, the club has provided professional welfare to Tanner during this time and will continue to do so.
“Tanner will return to the football programme for the start of pre-season training.”
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