Domestic violence charges that kept former Penrith Panthers player Taylan May out of the NRL have been dropped after the wife he was accused of punching did not show up to court.
The formal withdrawal of the allegations on Monday opens the door for a team to register him with the league again.
The 23-year-old had pleaded not guilty to domestic violence-related charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of stalking and intimidation over alleged incidents in April and May last year.
Mr May played 30 NRL games for the Penrith Panthers after debuting in 2021 and represented Samoa at the Rugby League World Cup in 2022.
But he has been out of the game since criminal charges were laid.
He was stood down under the NRL’s no-fault policy and then released by the Panthers in July after threatening to sue the club for trying to terminate his contract.
Mr May was on bail ahead of a scheduled hearing in Penrith Local Court on Monday.
But the woman he was accused of assaulting did not turn up to court and neither did her sister, a key witness in the prosecution case.
While a medical certificate was provided by the witness to explain her absence, police were unable to contact the complainant.
Prosecutors tried to adjourn the case, but Mr May’s barrister Phillip Boulten SC argued the circumstances were unlikely to change if there was another court date.
Refusing the adjournment request, Magistrate Stephen Corry said it was possible to infer the alleged victim had chosen not to come to court.
The decision prompted prosecutors to withdraw the charges.
Mr May remains subject to an apprehended violence order for six months.
AAP
