The dramatic moment that sank the rape case against Geelong midfielder Tanner Bruhn

Hours into giving evidence in the high-profile rape case against Geelong midfielder Tanner Bruhn, a key prosecution witness dramatically fled court, complaining of a medical episode.

After a night’s rest he returned to the witness box but with a very different story to tell. One that would see the charges against Bruhn and his longtime friend Patrick Sinnott collapse before the prosecutor’s eyes.

Harrison Martin was emotional as he told the court he’d made his whole story up.

He had no memory of the night he claimed his friend had been coerced into a car with the two accused after a chance meeting outside a regional strip club.

He hadn’t been pushed to the ground by one of them when he tried to intervene. And he hadn’t heard her asking for help in a distressed phone call.

Martin told the court he’d spun the story with details fed to him by the complainant, who he says later revealed to him that she had demanded money from Bruhn and Sinnott.

But he was adamant that whatever had happened with the two men had “obviously upset her”.

The case was adjourned that day, with plans to return in November to hear from the complainant. But instead, on Tuesday, the case was back in Geelong Magistrates’ Court for charges against the pair to be sensationally dropped.

Bruhn, 23, was revealed as the player who spent the 2025 season fighting the charges, after a suppression order banning the publication of his name was lifted – at his request. He had applied for the media blackout earlier this year on the basis that it was needed to protect his safety.

Legal teams for Bruhn and Sinnott now say they are assessing their legal options and called on those responsible for the false prosecution to be “held responsible”.

His co-accused and close friend, Sinnott, also tried but failed to have his name withheld. The Geelong Magistrates’ Court heard the pair were former housemates who had known each other since primary school.

The alleged victim in the case was to provide evidence at a preliminary hearing this week, but prosecutors told the court that charges against the pair would be dropped.

Dermot Dann, KC, for Bruhn, told the court the case had been “a horrible stain on the criminal justice system”.

“When it came to these allegations ... the complainant admitted she had lied,” he said.

“It was a case where Mr Bruhn’s liberty has been put in jeopardy, his career put in jeopardy. He’s been to hell and back.”

Dann said his client, who appeared via videolink, had also been attacked on social media, despite the court order preventing him from being identified publicly.

“Those people who did attack him on social media, we say should step away from their keyboards and hang their heads in shame because they failed to adhere to or respect … the presumption of innocence,” he told the court.

“Thereafter anyone who wants to comment on this case, should do so on understanding that Mr Bruhn was presumed innocent … he should be regarded now and forever as someone who was 100 per cent innocent.”

The AFL confirmed in a statement it had stood Bruhn down from participating in both the AFL and VFL for the 2025 season after learning of the criminal charges early this year.

Moya O’Brien, for Sinnott, said her client and his family had borne the brunt of publicity about the case while Bruhn’s name remained suppressed.

Outside court, lawyer Anna Balmer spoke on Bruhn’s behalf, saying he wanted those responsible for the failed prosecution to be held to account.

“We should all hope that Victoria Police properly investigates what appears to be an attempt to pervert the course of justice,” Balmer said.

“The last year of Tanner’s life has been horrible. He’s understandably upset.

“Tanner wants to put this ... behind him and get on with his future. He’ll comment himself in due course.”

Holly Boylan, for Sinnott, read a statement on her client’s behalf saying he hoped it marked the end of a difficult chapter and the case had had a deep and far-reaching impact on him and his family.

The court had already heard that the two men met the complainant at Geelong’s Alley Cat strip club at about 4am on February 5, 2023.

They were then accused of coaxing the woman into her car, before driving off and allegedly raping her in a bottle shop carpark in Belmont, in Geelong’s south.

However, two witnesses gave evidence that the woman had lied about the alleged attack, telling the court they were told that the men had paid the woman for sexual services but, after she demanded more money and they refused, she had reported the interaction as rape.

“[I concluded that] if she consented and requested payment for services, she provided consent; therefore it is not right … if she then reported it as rape – that would be lying to the police,” one of them said.

Sinnott and Bruhn were charged with several counts of sexual assault, including rape, but have always maintained their innocence.

Martin’s evidence sank the case against the pair, with Magistrate Kimberley Swadesir ordering the chief commissioner to pay both men’s costs, which O’Brien told the court were “significant”.

The complainant cannot be named for legal reasons.

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