A former Cricket Australia executive has successfully appealed a sexual assault conviction, with a judge throwing out the charge.
Ex-communications chief Timothy Joseph Whittaker, 40, blinked and stared straight ahead as the decision was handed down in Melbourne on Friday morning.
He had been found guilty in 2023 of sexually assaulting an intoxicated junior staffer after an end-of-season function.
It was alleged the man had gone to Mr Whittaker's Abbotsford apartment with a group of colleagues on March 16, 2019.
The man was asleep on the couch when the others left about 5am, but he allegedly woke up in Mr Whittaker's bed to the older man sexually touching him.
Mr Whittaker was convicted of the sexual assault and sentenced to a 30-month community corrections order in Melbourne Magistrates Court.
But he appealed his conviction in the Victorian County Court, with his barrister Dermot Dann KC arguing the alleged victim's story was improbable.
The man claimed he did not recall how he arrived in Mr Whittaker's bed with his pants partially pulled down but Mr Dann said that "defied human experience".
The alleged victim would have woken up if Mr Whittaker had carried him to the bed, undid his belt and removed his pants, Mr Dann said.
Judge Peter Lauritsen found the alleged victim was able to recall the design of Mr Whittaker's apartment, which showed he was conscious of his surroundings.
He also booked an Uber, contacted his friends and make a coherent note on his phone in the minutes after the alleged assault, the judge said.
The man's actions were inconsistent with someone who was so incapacitated they could not recall how they ended up in a bed, Judge Lauritsen said.
Mr Whittaker was also candid in his police interview and his denials were compelling, the judge found.
Judge Lauritsen said the court needed to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Whittaker was guilty of the offence.
He instead found there was a reasonable possibility Mr Whittaker was being truthful in his denials.
Judge Lauritsen dismissed the charge, finding he could not be satisfied Mr Whittaker was guilty.
He ordered Mr Whittaker's legal costs to be paid by the chief commissioner.
