Tristan Sailor’s former teammate has told a Sydney court he walked in on the NRL star as he was standing naked over a woman that prosecutors allege he sexually assaulted.
The 23-year-old is standing trial in the NSW District Court after pleading not guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault which allegedly led to bodily harm being inflicted on the woman on the October long weekend in 2020.
Eddie Blacker, who played alongside Mr Sailor for the St George Illawarra Dragons, on Wednesday told the court he accidentally opened the woman’s bedroom door to find the woman laying on her bed completely naked.
The court heard Mr Blacker had been out with Mr Sailor and teammates at the Beach Road Hotel in Bondi when the woman and her friend met them there, where they consumed more alcohol and played drinking games.
Mr Blacker told the court he had never met the woman, but she joined in as the group played Tiger Tiger and drank alcohol.
The woman’s friend previously told the court her friend was so intoxicated she sent messages saying “I can’t function” and “I can’t see straight”.
In a statement to police, Mr Blacker said Mr Sailor and the woman became close throughout the night and he got the impression “she seemed like she was interested in him”, the court heard.
Mr Blacker said the woman’s interest “was not physical”, but she was just really interested in “chatting to him”.
“She was sitting next to him and all of her attention was faced towards him,” Mr Blacker said.
The court heard the group left the pub and Mr Blacker, Mr Sailor and the two women got into an Uber and went back to the woman’s apartment in Sydney’s south.
When they arrived they continued drinking vodka and soft drinks at the woman’s dining table, before moving onto vodka and water when the mixers ran out.
Mr Blacker said the woman did not seem more intoxicated than the others.
“She was on the same level as everyone else, she wasn’t slurring or sloppy,” he said.
He then explained how he got into the shower with the woman’s friend and began hooking up with her in the bathroom before they then moved onto the couch.
When he came out of the bathroom, Mr Blacker noticed the woman’s bedroom door was closed with both her and Mr Sailor inside.
As he was on the couch with the woman’s friend, Mr Sailor walked out of the bedroom for 10 seconds, completely naked.
“I just saw Tristan walk past us and 10 seconds later he walked back in,” Mr Blacker told the court.
The court heard that when Mr Blacker got dressed he walked to the woman’s room and stuck his head inside where he saw her lying naked on her back and Mr Sailor standing at the end of the bed.
Both of them were naked.
“She was definitely conscxjmtzywious, her eyes were open looking at Tristan … when I opened the door she looked at me,” Mr Blacker said.
“She looked at me for roughly a second then I shut the door straight after.
“I only saw Tristan in my peripheral vision but he was naked.”
Mr Blacker told the court he became embarrassed, apologised to the pair and closed the door before going back to the couch and texting Mr Sailor “let’s go”.
About a minute later, Mr Sailor walked out of the room completely dressed and the pair left, getting into an Uber back to their hotel at Bondi.
Mr Sailor has been supported by his father Wendell Sailor throughout the trial, despite the pair not being able to be in the courtroom together due to Covid restrictions.
In an area adjacent to the courtroom, Mr Sailor’s father has been watching proceedings via a live video link.
The former Kangaroos and Wallabies superstar recently revealed he stepped down from co-hosting roles with Triple M’s drive show while the trial took place.
The trial continues.
