Rugby player not guilty of sex charges

A FORMER Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and Castleford Tigers player has been found not guilty of committing sex offences against a woman.

Richard Owen, 27, was yesterday found not guilty of three offences of assault by penetration.

The jury at Leeds Crown Court also unanimously found him not guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily and theft.

The offences were alleged to have taken place at a house in Castleford on November 21 last year.

Owen was also accused of stealing two mobile phones and an iPad from the same woman.

Owen, of Fryston Road, Castleford, played as a winger for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats but the club parted company with him in October last year.

The club said Owen left Trinity “by mutual consent” after scoring 11 tries in 33 appearances.

He joined them from Castleford in 2014, but suffered a broken leg in a game against Bradford Bulls in August 2015,

He did not feature in any games for the club 2016.

A statement from Trinity at the time of his departure from the club said: “The club would like to thank Richard for his service and wish him all the best for the future.”