Woman at centre of rugby sex allegations wants privacy

The woman who alleges she was sexually violated by four English rugby players in Auckland wants to protect her privacy and correct misinformation, her lawyers have said in a letter to the English Rugby Union.

The woman was invited to the Hilton Hotel in Auckland early on June 15 by an English rugby player following the defeat of his team by the All Blacks.

In the letter, signed by Chapman Tripp partner Jack Hodder, to the ERU's disciplinary officer Judge Blackett the woman said she was sexually violated by four players.

The injuries she received caused the medical professionals treating her to refer her to police.

The letter said the woman would not appear before the English disciplinary committee, would not lay a formal complaint with New Zealand police, and had not talked to media about the allegations because she wanted to maintain her privacy.

"We note that this letter is likely to be put in the public domain as the first and final public statement of the victim's position, and to counter the misinformation mentioned earlier."

The woman said she did not know Sophie "Angel" Lewis, who sold her own story about a night with an English player to a British tabloid, she is not a lap dancer and did not have a boyfriend who had complained to police, as reported by some media.

Spokeswoman for the woman, Glenda Hughes, last night told NZPA the most important thing was to retain the woman's privacy.

"Even though she's not known, she feels it's wrong people look at the situation in the wrong light. She personally wanted the details corrected."

The English disciplinary committee looking into the allegations had not contacted the New Zealand police or the woman, Ms Hughes said.

The players involved denied any wrongdoing and, on legal advice, did not talk to police before leaving the country.

A British tabloid named the four players as Danny Care, David Strettle, Topsy Ojo and Mike Brown. Neither the woman, nor police, have named the players.

Detective Sergeant Andy King, from the Auckland City adult sexual abuse team, said police were still working through the investigation into the sexual violation allegations.

He was aware of the woman's letter to the England rugby management board.

The fact the woman did not want to make a complaint at the moment did not matter as she might decide to in the future, which meant the investigation still had to be carried out, he told the New Zealand Herald.

But charges were unlikely to be laid at this stage because of the lack of a complaint and the accused were overseas. That could change if a formal complaint was laid.

The English RFU said Judge Blackett "is considering the contents of the letter and his investigation is continuing. No date has been set for the completion of the investigation".

After the allegation was made, RFU chief executive Francis Baron said the RFU was desperate to clear the players' names.

He said: "We're in a very strange situation -- with no allegations, no complaint being made -- as to exactly how the name of the players can be cleared."