St Kilda AFL player Stephen Milne has been charged with rape over an incident that allegedly occurred in 2004.
Victoria Police said a 33-year-old Cheltenham man has been charged with four counts of rape following an alleged incident in 2004.
He will appear in court on July 5.
St Kilda Football Club released a brief statement this afternoon.
“The St Kilda Football Club can confirm that Stephen Milne has been charged by Victoria Police arising from a matter in 2004,” it said.
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“The club acknowledges that any reopening of the matter will cause distress for all parties.
“The club is gathering details of this reinvestigation and intends to make further comment tomorrow.”
Police had said last year that it was likely Milne would never be prosecuted because key evidence was missing and officers had conflicts of interest.
An Office of Police Integrity (OPI) report into the case found there were reasonable concerns among officers that the case was subject to undue interference and recommended a review of the brief of evidence.
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Police said the decision to lay charges followed an extensive review of the initial investigation by specialist detectives within the sexual crimes squad.
“That review was prompted by an OPI recommendation last year that the brief of evidence be reviewed to ensure all relevant evidence had been properly recorded and retained,” the Victoria Police statement said.
“As we have previously made clear, it is a matter of regret that this review found the initial investigation to have been substantially inadequate.
“As a result, further inquiries have been conducted by the sexual crimes squad and after consulting with the Office of Public Prosecutions, the decision has been made to lay charges.”
The statement said it was unfortunate for all parties concerned that the matter had taken so many years to progress, “but having discussed with the alleged victim in this matter, we can confirm that our decision to lay charges accords with her wishes”.
“It is now important that the defendant in this matter be afforded the same procedural fairness any other member of the community would expect in these circumstances,” the statement said.
“Victoria Police will be providing no further comment at this time and until the matter has run its course through the normal legal process.”
In its report the OPI found police had failed to address conflict-of-interest issues concerning a well-known St Kilda supporter who was involved in the case.
Although there is no evidence to suggest he interfered with the investigation, he failed to formally declare or otherwise manage the perceived conflict of interest.
The OPI also exonerated a serving officer who worked as a trainer for St Kilda at the time of the allegations.
Milne has played 268 AFL games for the Saints, including 10 of 11 games this year, and was a member of the 2009 and 2010 grand final teams.
