Here is what I am not understanding.
In both cases of Tyrone May and the video of Liam Coleman and Tyrone Phillips, was there anything illegal or anything to bring the game into disrepute?
As far as I know, take a video of two (or three) consenting adults is legal*. People have been self-videoing their sexual act for as long as they have been able to record video. What isnât legal is circulating the video.
According to the media, the videos have been released by a third party from a rival club (of whom we are not going to mention but have a goods idea who it is) either out of spite or as an attempt of extortion. This scumbag is the person committing a crime here. I hope the NRL Integrity Unit find out who it was and make them suffer.
- Of course if it isnât concentual then we have a whole new problem on our hands.
Latest update from Channel 9 News today is that Tyrone May has been arrested and charged by NSW Police for âdisseminating images and recording images without consentâ - two separate charges for two separate victims.
Steveâs comment above is right - taking a video of sexual acts between consenting adults is not illegal. But filming someone without their consent is, as is distributing this content without their consent. My concern is that the women in these videos have contacted NSW Police and advised that the filming was done without their consent, or that they believe May has distributed the videos originally.
I donât think May was the one whoâs distributed it to the media, but these videos are definitely getting out somehow. If the rumours of a WhatsApp group of players are true, that needs to be shut down. If a certain Facebook memes page is the one getting a hold of them and distributing them, the NRL needs to be taking action against the person responsible there.
If heâs convicted of recording without consent or disseminating without consent, personally I wouldnât want him in the jersey again. Our club culture needs to be better than this.
** UPDATE **
There are two videos under investigation, the players have been confirmed.
- Video 1: Tyrone May
- Video 2: Tyrone Phillips & Liam Coleman
There has been speculation of the women in the videos. There will be NO DISCUSSION of the women in these videos. They are not subject to the investigation and do not deserve to have their names revealed and publicised. This is a ZERO TOLERANCE matter, names will be removed from posts discussing the women and the poser will be warned and/or banned from the site as to protect the victims and as it may lead to legal issues with the site.
Statement from NSW Police below.
A man has been charged after allegedly filming and disseminating sexual acts with two women without their knowledge and consent.
In February 2018, a 22-year-old man allegedly filmed a sexual act with a woman at Coffs Harbour.
It is further alleged that in May 2018, the same 22-year-old man filmed a sexual act with another woman at Kingswood.
Police have been told that while the sexual acts were consensual, the women were unaware they were being filmed.
These recordings were also allegedly disseminated without their consent.
Over the past few days, the women became aware the existence of the videos and contacted police.
Following inquiries, about 9am today (Tuesday 5 March 2019), a 22-year-old man presented at Penrith Police Station where he was arrested.
He has now been charged with two counts of recording intimate image without consent, and two counts of disseminate image without consent.
The man was granted conditional bail to appear before Penrith Local Court on Wednesday 1 May 2019.
Inquiries are continuing.
Tyrone May has been arrested by Penrith Police charged with (2) counts of Unauthorized Recording of a Sexual Act and (2) charges of Unauthorized Discemination of Sexual Recordings in 2 unrelated events. He is due to front Penrith Local Court on 1 May 2019.
Incident 1: Coffs Harbour - February 2018
Charges
- Charge (1): Unauthorized Recording of a Sexual Act
- Charge (2): Unauthorized Dissemination of Sexual Recordings
Incident 2: Kingswood - May 2018
Charges
- Charge (1): Unauthorized Recording of a Sexual Act
- Charge (2): Unauthorized Dissemination of Sexual Recordings
Steve
I think in light of what has now gone from a good discussion should be closed down to remove any risk of a comment which may not be in anyones best interest
I will simply say i believe this will be the tip of the iceberg in âissuesâ for the NRL.
This is possibly the biggest mistake the NRL have ever made in a policy decision but this will not be the last
Appreciate everyones comments on here but now its gone legal i think we should close it down.
The previous few posts have covered the legality/illegality of filming & distributing the videos, so I donât have much to add.
The point I would like to make is that, if whoever made these videos - be it Dylan Napa, Tyrone May or anyone else - had decided to keep the footage private & purely for their own personal use, there would be no story. No scandal. Because nobody, except the player (and the woman who, one would hope, consented to being filmed) would know about it.
The problem is not that the videos exist. The problem is the playerâs decision to share it with another person. Or 2 other people. Or 10 or 50 or 500 other people. The number doesnât really matter. What is 100% certain is that if you are filmed doing something that is potentially incriminating, and you share that footage with someone else, sooner or later, it will surface and be used against you - especially if youâre a public figure.
Even I know that, and I grew up way before this era where every act is videoed & selfied to death.
Until now, I had thought Tyrone May had merely acted with complete disregard and lack of respect for the women he had filmed. I certainly knew heâd been hopelessly naive, stupid, reckless, irresponsible, misogynist, immature, and boorish in making and sharing the videos. Thatâs not a criminal offence, but do you want it as an example for your kids?
Of course, now he HAS been charged with a criminal offence.
Any player who makes a sex video & shares it should assume that it will inevitably be leaked. They may not leak it but, if they hadnât shared the footage, it would have never have seen the light of day. In my book, that makes the player culpable. They have to take responsibility. Ultimately, they have to own it.
Lastly, the decision to share sex footage is obviously not based on noble motives. That fact alone is enough to bring the game into disrepute. The NRL is becoming a joke and the players are becoming a laughing stock. An article recently quotes Robbie Farah as being embarrassed to tell people heâs an NRL player. Case in point - a mate of mineâs son was in hospital recently, and the ward was visited by a couple of NRL players. After theyâd left, my mate said the whole ward was talking about the visit - not what nice blokes theyâd been, but laughing about whether or not they might have done a sex tape.
Such a shame.
I donât mind the discussion, but I do agree that it gets out of hand, I will be shutting the thread down.
this is an example of what i posed as a risk
Not sure if you guys know but May has been chargedâŚthat is NOT saying he is convicted.
It is an âallegedâ crime which has to be tested in court.
Bryan you have already said he did make and share the videosâŚyour words.
I would urge caution in what is posted as the case has to be proved one way or the other.
I generally think the tone of this discussion has been of a high standard on these boards.
Correct that May has been charged and will be defending the charges in court. Innocent till proven guilty is our rule of law, and as such we should limit ourselves to statements of fact.
Media is reporting the name of the former Penrith player who fronted the integrity unit today. I was tipped of as to his name by some associated with the club, but chose not to name or speculate based on the reasons above.
Unfortunately I fear this is but the tip of the greenburg,
Social media will be under intense scrutiny after what NRL memes did last night (and later took down following threat of legal action). In my opinion they deserve everything thrown at them.
On with the footy I say, let this run itâs course and discuss the team list, injuries, wacky finals proposals et al.
SBF,
I take your point about the need to be careful, given the matters before the court. However, to reiterate Steveâs post, May has been charged withâŚ
Charge (1): Unauthorized Recording of a Sexual Act
Charge (2): Unauthorized Dissemination of Sexual Recordings
I noted these charges carefully before writing my post, with the view that âunauthorisedâ is the key word. Itâs no crime to make or share sex videos, if itâs done with the consent of all parties involved. My criticism of May in making the videos - and yes, I did say he made them & shared them - reflected that position. At no stage did comment on his guilt or innocence. His crime, if itâs proved that he committed a crime, would be that he made & distributed the videos without authorisation - which is what I said when I noted that he has now been charged.
So, again, I certainly accept the need to be careful, but I donât think Iâve transgressed the boundaries.
Shut it down. Thereâs no more to say!
Read about it in the papers.
Paddle your boat up the creek and stay there. I have read absolutely nothing on these post that isnt easily available in other forms of media.
Thatâs because we are not in the business of posting potentially damaging defamations.
Like you say, that can be found elsewhere
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