Rugby star jailed for sexually assaulting three girls in Cardiff nightclub
An worldwide rugby star has been jailed after sexually assaulting three girls in a bar.
Fiji worldwide Api Ratuniyarawa, 37, attacked the ladies in Revolution in Cardiff on the evening of October 31, three days earlier than he was attributable to play for the Barbarians towards Wales on the Principality Stadium. He was dropped from the crew following his arrest.
Ratuniyarawa, who performed on the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England, has admitted two counts of assault by penetration and an additional cost of sexual assault. The dad-of-four has been sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in jail.
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He will serve as much as half in custody and the remainder locally. The assaults came about on the metropolis centre bar between October 31 and November 1, Cardiff Crown Court heard.
Heath Edwards, prosecuting, advised the court docket: “On November 4 the Barbarians performed Wales on the Principality Stadium.
(Image: David Davies/PA Wire)
“The defendant had been selected to play for the Barbarians and together with the rest of his teammates had attended Cardiff in the week before the game to attend media commitments and training for the fixture. The defendant appears to have spent many of his nights socialising in Cardiff in advance of the game.
“The defendant has repeatedly attended the Revolution bar on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights of the week in run-up to the fixture. On each of those occasions, of those visits, he sexually assaulted a different lady in the VIP area of the bar.”
Ratuniyarawa performed for Northampton Saints within the Premiership between 2016 and 2022. He went on to spend a yr at London Irish earlier than they went bust final summer season.
The court docket heard that Ratuniyarawa had hoped that the Barbarians look would assist revive his profession, however he has since been pressured to use for advantages.
Ruth Smith, defending, mentioned: “These are matters [that] arose out of primarily the consumption of alcohol.”
