Bulldogs evidence existed: police - 28th April 2004
(Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)

Police investigating rape allegations against six Bulldogs NRL players say there's evidence a rape occurred.

Asked whether there was any evidence of rape physically, Strike Force head Jason Breton replied: "Yes."

But he said there was insufficient evidence to pursue charges against any players.

A 20-year-old woman accused up to six players of gang raping her beside the pool of the Pacific Bay Resort in Coffs Harbour after a pre-season match on February 22 this year.

Police announced they would not lay charges against anyone involved with the club.

Detective Breton said proving rape cases can be difficult because the evidence can be the same as consensual sex.

"It's always hard to talk about evidence of rape because rape's an offence, sexual intercourse isn't but the evidence can be the same," he said.

Detective Breton said at the time of the original complaint there was physical evidence that backed up the woman's claim.

"There was evidence consistent with her version as of the date of complaint, that is, physical evidence consistent of her version," he said.

But as the investigation progressed, issues arose that did not fit with the original complaint.

"The thing is there were substantial holes in some witness accounts, there were some alibis which when discovered were checked out and became evidence against the original version (and) there were some timelines that didn't match up," he said.

These kinds of problems with evidence often occurred with cases of serious sexual assault, he said.

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