During a Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks pre-season tour of New Zealand in February 2002, Matthew Johns and 11 other unnamed club members were involved in a group sexual encounter with a 19-year-old woman in Johns's Christchurch hotel room. Five days later, the woman made an allegation of sexual assault, prompting police inquiries in both New Zealand and Australia. No charges were laid. The woman, identified in the later media coverage by the pseudonym “Clare,” told the ABC's Four Corners program that she had returned to the hotel with Johns and another player, and that an unwanted kiss developed into sex after she felt socially pressured and uncomfortable objecting. Johns acknowledged participating in the encounter but maintained that it was consensual. The incident remained largely out of public view for seven years, until Four Corners broadcast its investigation, “Code of Silence,” on 11 May 2009. Johns declined an on-camera interview for the program but later spoke to the Nine Network, expressing regret over what had happened and saying the controversy had been painful for his family. The professional consequences were immediate: Channel Nine stood him down from his commentary role and from The Footy Show, while the Melbourne Storm released him indefinitely from his assistant-coaching position. Johns subsequently declined an offer to return to commentary later in 2009 and rejected a reported $600,000-a-year Nine contract, instead pursuing independent media work. The case remains a prominent example of how alleged sexual misconduct in professional sport can remain hidden for years, even when police investigations produce no criminal charges.
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