An A-League player, Ruon Tongyik, is currently undergoing a jury trial after pleading not guilty to charges of sexually assaulting a woman at his Sydney residence in 2018. The alleged victim, a supporter of the A-League, claims she lost consciousness after participating in a drinking game and later woke up to find herself being raped by Tongyik and his friend, Mardochee “Doch” Manirakiza.
Jurors were presented with a recorded phone conversation between Tongyik and Manirakiza, during which Tongyik expressed that the allegations were hindering his chances of selection for the national soccer teams, the Socceroos or Olyroos. In the 2022 call, he remarked, “I think she is trying to ruin my career,” and lamented how the allegations had affected his Olympic aspirations after being selected to compete in Tokyo for Australia.
Following the emergence of the rape claim, Tongyik was removed from the Olympic team after a Football Australia investigation. During the conversation, he asserted that the woman had instigated a game of “truth or dare” and both men claimed she consented to sexual encounters with each of them separately, disputing the allegations of forcible rape.
Manirakiza also defended their actions during the phone call, alleging that if the encounter had been non-consensual, he wouldn’t have left the door and window open. He claimed that no force was employed to have the woman enter the room.
Prosecutors maintain that while the group did engage in consensual activities, the situation escalated as the woman consumed alcohol, leading to her blacking out and later being assaulted. They contend that the men were aware she could not provide consent during the alleged incident.
In another recording presented to the jury, Football Australia officials interrogated Tongyik regarding previous messages with the woman that accompanied her social media post branding him a rapist. In her messages, she accused him of pressuring her into taking multiple shots against her wishes. When questioned by officials about whether he remembered her saying “no,” Tongyik responded that he did not recall such a statement and described the evening as proceeding without interruption.
Both Tongyik and Manirakiza have pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual intercourse without consent. The trial is ongoing at the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney.