Milne charged

[CHAMP 347]

You must be a fossil.

He could have gone with Perry Mason

[ThreeOneSix 954]

Milne will still play, innocent till proven guilty.

The blokes gone ten years without incident, he deserves to play.

If he was your run of the mill thug like people make out - he'd of stuffed up in the past ten years.

Plus, if Milne is found guilty, it's not like he'll get off easily, his life will basically be over.

So, given the circumstance, we have to assume that Steve is innocent until the evidence suggests otherwise.

Good luck Steve.

[ThreeOneSix 954]

Kind of like the opposite of how they treated Lovett then?

Yep, Lovett was unlucky, his sacking cost him an AFL career and arguably cost St Kilda a flag.

No winners there.

[nicksaidsoyouknowitstrue 19]

I don't think if I was at stkilda I would want him to play - regardless.

too much agro would be happening for him to focus.

which might be a good thing for us.

[dees189227 12,238]

Im not sure his head would be in the right space to play a game. If anyone in the public was charged with 4 counts of rape im not sure they would be able to focus on there work let alone in front of the public.

Milney already cops it, imagine what he will cop now from the crowd.

Id stand him down at least for this week anyway.

[MadAsHell 4,209]

Milne will still play, innocent till proven guilty.

The blokes gone ten years without incident, he deserves to play.

If he was your run of the mill thug like people make out - he'd of stuffed up in the past ten years.

Plus, if Milne is found guilty, it's not like he'll get off easily, his life will basically be over.

So, given the circumstance, we have to assume that Steve is innocent until the evidence suggests otherwise.

Good luck Steve.

Given the evidence against he'll be very lucky if he's found not guilty. This one's not as cloudy as the Lovett case, trust me.

[Gorgoroth 12,712]

Robbo thinks Milne will play against us.

[Suzanna 72]

I would have thought St Kilda would have to suspend him pending the court case - it is common practice for any organisation to suspend an employee who has been charged with a serious offence while waiting on a resolution. If St Kilda don't, it sends a very poor message indeed.

Hmmm. Mick Malthouse fined $7,500 for his angry words - should Milne be found guilty (and Malthouse therefore proven correct) what do you think his chances of a refund are?

[Pates 9,625]

Given the evidence against he'll be very lucky if he's found not guilty. This one's not as cloudy as the Lovett case, trust me.

Not meaning to be a smartass here, but how can you possibly know what sort of evidence is available. Yes it sounds like the initial investigation was botched and corrupted, but it was still withdrawn. No matter what the situation, it's got to be the hardest crime to prove, especially this long down the track.

I can't believe St Kilda is actually thinking of playing him, I would be standing him down at the very least for one week if nothing else for him to get him away from the club and the media.

[Whispering_Jack 29,249]

I would have thought St Kilda would have to suspend him pending the court case - it is common practice for any organisation to suspend an employee who has been charged with a serious offence while waiting on a resolution. If St Kilda don't, it sends a very poor message.

Innocent until proven guilty. We didn't disqualify Liam Jurrah when he faced serious charges.

I understand there was to be a meeting of St. Kilda's board tonight. Anyone know the result?

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

Not trying to sound like Fred Nile here, but this is a very serious criminal charge which I expect has had a major impact on the woman in question and the respective families.

Get some perspective fellas. It's bigger than whether he'll be on the team sheet this weekend.

[The heart beats true 17,825]

If you follow the case and the handling of it by some members of the police force it's a disgrace that its taken so long to get to this point.

One things for sure, I bet the AFL Is delighted this has come up a week before Women's round. Ouch.

[7-UP 107]

Milne will still play, innocent till proven guilty.

The blokes gone ten years without incident, he deserves to play.

If he was your run of the mill thug like people make out - he'd of stuffed up in the past ten years.

Plus, if Milne is found guilty, it's not like he'll get off easily, his life will basically be over.

So, given the circumstance, we have to assume that Steve is innocent until the evidence suggests otherwise.

Good luck Steve.

Is this the same guy that insult Jurrah for a crime he found not guilty of?

[titan_uranus 24,677]

Just what the AFL needs - more media, more coverage, more scrutiny, and another negative topic. We've already had racism, now conduct with women is back on the agenda.

Also not what St Kilda needs - this weekend is Riewoldt and Dal Santo's 250th game. Obviously a rape investigation is quite serious, not trying to trivialise at all, but for the Saints, in a dreary season, acknowledging two of their better players, including their captain and a future Hall of Famer, would have been a highlight, but it's going to be overshadowed now.

FWIW, I don't think Milne should play. Crowds don't take to him at the best of times - some hurtful things could be said. I'm also sure St Kilda would rather the focus be on their two 250-gamers.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,654]

Firstly, the Lovett and Milne situations are quite different and parallels should not be drawn. St Kilda was quite clear that Lovett's contract was terminated for a number of matters, not just because of the matter with which he was charged.

Secondly, I doubt Milne being charged came as a surprise to him. I don't mean to say that he is guilty or not - I wouldn't know. What I mean is that he will over the last few weeks or months have been involved in the investigation process (either personally or via his lawyer) and would have known from those events that being charged was a possible or even likely outcome. So I don't think Milne's state of mind will be necessarily affected by the legal proceedings on foot - but he might find it difficult to play because of the crowd's reaction.

If he plays I hope that our supporters leave him alone. I would not like our brand to be any more tarnished because of poor behaviour by our supporters. And there can be no doubt that the media will beat up any story, particularly if there are pictures, which show our supporters denigrating Milne.

[Little Goffy 14,069]

9 years later, a integrity investigation reviewing the case determines that there had indeed been enough evidence in the first place to base a prosecution on it.

Already, regardless of the outcome of Milne's trial itself, there will be a number of 'Victoria's Finest' facing severe, severe disciplinary action, and possible criminal proceedings of their own. This is not a prosecution that has been reopened lightly.

I can't shake the thought of the horror any victim of rape would go through, to be dismissed and basically disparaged by the authorities even when there was a substantial amount of credible evidence available.

[The Third Eye 252]

Rape is an insidious crime that affects innumerable victims and only a small percentage of perpetrators are brought to justice. That's the nature of the crime and the criminal justice system but if police officers have been involved in covering up such a crime then their own crime should be dealt with harshly. This is a story that hasn't gone away and has so many facets to it. The media will ensure that Milne will be a recurring headline and the Saints face a gigantic dilemma as to what to do with their player. Do they treat him differently to Lovett? And wasn't there another player involved in the shenanigans?

[PJ_12345 1,098]

St Kilda are holding a presser about this this afternoon - should be mentioning if he will be playing this weekend.

[MadAsHell 4,209]

Not meaning to be a smartass here, but how can you possibly know what sort of evidence is available. Yes it sounds like the initial investigation was botched and corrupted, but it was still withdrawn. No matter what the situation, it's got to be the hardest crime to prove, especially this long down the track.

I can't believe St Kilda is actually thinking of playing him, I would be standing him down at the very least for one week if nothing else for him to get him away from the club and the media.

Seen the brief of evidence due to my work. Was amazed he wasn't charged initially.

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,392]

He's playing this weekend.

Sauce - the age

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Fairly disgusting that the Herald Scum has quotes from the alleged victim about what allegedly happened. Let the man have his day in court.

[Cards13 9,117]

He's not playing, source the same The Age as quoted he is playing.

[titan_uranus 24,677]

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/saints-rule-milne-out-of-game-against-melbourne-20130619-2ohk7.html

[Bombay Airconditioning 6,217]

Fairly disgusting that the Herald Scum has quotes from the alleged victim about what allegedly happened. Let the man have his day in court.

Fair call, but would the case be reopened unless there was new evidence worthy of a trial?

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Fair call, but would the case be reopened unless there was new evidence worthy of a trial?

The point is it should be heard in court, not a newspaper.