A NSW police officer has been acquitted after running a police search on a coach at her local sports club who had been falsely accused of child sex abuse.
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Belynda Rocha was suspended from the force on full pay last August after she was charged with accessing restricted data on a computer.
The 34-year-old senior constable, who is also the sports club's president, was found not guilty at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday, with a magistrate saying she took a "common sense approach" to serious accusations.
Ms Rocha was working with the Bankstown highway patrol in April 2017 when she heard claims from a parent that a coach had been charged for sexually assaulting a kid.
On April 3, a few days after the allegation was aired on the first day of competition, Ms Rocha accessed the online police system, which the Crown argued was a gross breach of the coach's privacy.
Prosecutor Brittany Parker argued Ms Rocha acted without authorisation and in her private capacity to satisfy her own curiosity.
"You certainly do not have experience investigating serious crimes such as sexual assault," Ms Parker said.
"I disagree with that. As a general duty officer I have to investigate matters," Rocha replied.
"I didn't think there was a conflict of interest."
Ms Rocha's lawyer argued she intended to refer any issues to her colleagues and then remove herself from the investigation, but found nothing relevant on the coach's file.
Defence barrister Alissa Moen said the officer was concerned fights would break out between worried parents at the club with "rumours swirling", and acted swiftly to prevent that.
The pregnant coach didn't previously need a Working with Children Check as she was also a parent of one of the players, but she offered to get one straight away, telling Ms Rocha she had "nothing to hide", the court heard.
Magistrate David Price said Ms Rocha was placed in a difficult position but ruled it was reasonable for her to check if the coach had "any form of criminal history" given the information that faced her.
"The defendant took the appropriate course of action," he said.
"Some may suggest it was her duty to do so."
Australian Associated Press