Danushka Gunathilaka’s bail conditions were relaxed by a Sydney magistrate on Thursday, now allowing him to use the WhatsApp messaging service and go out at night.
He has been living in Sydney since being granted bail in November, but was not allowed to access social media unless in the company of his legal team, and also had to adhere to a night-time curfew.
In this most recent hearing, crown prosecutor George Rixon argued the night-time curfew was needed to mitigate the risk of offending based on the alleged facts of the complainant’s statement, specifically, Gunathilaka’s “aggressive sexual behaviour” against her.
But magistrate Atkinson said she was “not satisfied today that it is necessary to keep the curfew in place”, and that “there’s nothing unique about [the alleged offences] that it would have occurred at night and couldn’t occur during the day”. Though acknowledging that Gunathilaka had been fully compliant with the bail conditions thus far, the magistrate did warn that Gunathilaka would spend many months in custody waiting for a trial or sentencing if he breached bail. His case is expected to return to court in April.