Parramatta Eels star five-eighth Dylan Brown has reportedly been charged with five counts of sexual touching after an alleged incident at a Double Bay pub on Saturday night.
Brown and the Eels are in the midst of a week off, having the bye during the currently ongoing Round 14.
News Corp are reporting that police were called to the pub after a 20-year-old woman reported the alleged incident to staff at the venue.
Brown was then taken to Waverley Police Station for questioning over the incident before being charged.
The report alleges that Brown and the woman are not known to each other. The NRL are yet to comment on the incident, however, the Eels released a short statement confirming the incident on Sunday morning.
"The Parramatta Eels have been made aware of an incident involving Dylan Brown last night," the club wrote.
"The Club has advised the NRL integrity unit as per our normal process.
"As it is a police matter, the Club will not be making further comment at this time."
NSW Police, in a statement, said Brown will face court on Wednesday.
โAbout 11.40pm yesterday officers attached to Eastern Suburbs PAC were called to a hotel on New South Head Rd at Double Bay following a report of sexual touching,โ the statement read.
โPolice arrested a 22-year-old man he was taken to Waverley Police Station where he has been charged with sexually touch another person without consent.
โHe was granted bail to appear before Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday, June 7.โ
The maximum sentence in New South Wales for sexual touching is five years, so the NRL's no-fault stand-down policy for the alleged incident would not be automatically applied, however, the NRL have been clear in their view that any incident involving women would likely see the policy invoked.
Luciano Leilua has recently returned from the no-falt stand-down policy in the most recent case of it being applied by the NRL after he had charges of his own dismissed in court.
Other players have been heavily impacted by the policy in recent seasons.
It's unclear whether he will be named for next weekend's fixture against the Canterbury Bulldogs after the alleged incident.
Brown, who played for New Zealand at last year's Rugby League World Cup, has been one of the best so far in the 2023 campaign for Parramatta and re-signed on a long-term deal earlier this year.
