COLLINGWOOD'S Jordan De Goey has had his indecent assault charge withdrawn over allegations of an incident in Melbourne six years ago.
De Goey, 25, was due to face Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday with friend and co-accused Jake Edginton for a contest hearing about the alleged incident in Kew in 2015.
But both men had their charges struck out in the brief hearing, in which the Collingwood player appeared via video link wearing a black face mask and suit.
His barrister Dermot Dann said it was a "successful outcome", with Victoria Police agreeing to pay $15,000 in legal costs to De Goey and $6300 to Mr Edginton.
Victoria Police will have until November 9 to pay costs to both men.
"The charge that I faced until today arose out of events that took place in June 2015," De Goey said in a statement.
"Since that time I have cooperated with the AFL integrity investigation, the police investigation and the court process with respect to this matter.
"I have maintained my innocence from the outset.
"I am very pleased that the matter has now come to an end.
"I’d like to thank my family, friends, teammates, sponsors, Collingwood Football Club and my lawyers, Tony Hargreaves and Dermot Dann QC, for all of their support throughout this process.
"At this time I would also like to indicate my respect to all parties associated with the prosecution of this charge and out of that respect I will not be making any further public comment on this matter."
De Goey was investigated by the AFL integrity unit and Victoria Police in 2018 over the allegations from when he was 19, but charges were not laid until July 2020.
Earlier this year, De Goey also faced court over a string of unrelated driving and road offences for which his lawyer said he would plead guilty.
The charges are for driving while suspended and using a phone while behind the wheel on Punt Road in Melbourne in July 2019 and failing to wear a helmet or display his P-plates while riding a motorbike on Alexandra Avenue in February 2020.
The withdrawal of his indecent assault charge comes after De Goey collected 28 disposals, six marks and two tackles in Collingwood's 19-point loss to Hawthorn at a crowd-less MCG on Sunday.
De Goey has played 116 games for the Magpies since debuting in 2015, kicking 153 goals.
