Tyrone May, who plays in the NRL for the Penrith Panthers, has been arrested and charged over the sex tape scandal engulfing his club. May is accused of filming two separate women, on separate occasions, as they engaged in sex acts and then sharing the films. While the sex was consensual, the women allegedly did not agree to being filmed, and have denied knowing that May was sharing the videos – or even that he had them until they were posted online last Friday.

The incidents took place in Coffs Harbour in February 2018, and in Kingswood, in Western Sydney, in May of the same year. Recording and/or distributing intimate images without the consent of everyone involved has only been a crime in NSW since August 2017, however the legislation was passed before May took the videos.

This means that if the women did not consent to the filming or distribution then he committed serious crimes, and faces a maximum punishment of 3 years in prison and an $11,000 fine for each of the four offences he has been charged with.

The videos were part of a group of three that were posted online last Friday, and it is not currently known who has been posting them. It is believed that a former Panthers player, now at another club, is being investigated. The leaker is also, reportedly, planning to release more videos featuring Panthers players. They will also face charges of distributing intimate footage when found by police.

The Panthers have notified the NRL integrity unit of the arrest and charges, although they reportedly only found out after seeing reports in the media. CEO Brian Fletcher has stated that May denies all charges.

May has now been released on conditional bail, and will face Penrith Local Court on May 1.

The arrest and charges are yet another blow to the NRL in an off season that has been riddled with scandal, from the “Big Papi” videos to Jack de Belin’s rape charge.