Thu Sep 12 04:22:00 UTC 2024: ## Former NRL Player and Boxer Cleared of Break-In Charges

**Sydney, Australia** – Former NRL player and professional boxer, Willis Pele Meehan, has been cleared of charges related to a break-in at a Sydney smash repair shop in 2022. Meehan, 29, had been sentenced to 12 months in prison in February after being found guilty of breaking and entering and stealing tools valued at less than $60,000.

However, Judge Robyn Tupman overturned the conviction on Thursday, stating that “suspicion is no substitute for proof.” The Crown’s case relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, including similarities in Meehan’s appearance to a man caught on CCTV footage during the break-in.

Despite similarities in the footage, Judge Tupman expressed doubt about whether the person shown was indeed Meehan. She also pointed to inconsistencies in the timing of the CCTV footage and the lack of evidence supporting the transportation of the stolen items.

Furthermore, Meehan’s legal team argued that the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his palm print found on a set of drawers in the shop’s locked back office was placed there during the break-in.

Meehan, who was released from prison in March following his original sentence, had been returned to custody after being charged with separate offenses involving weapons and fraud. He pleaded guilty to possessing an unauthorised firearm and conspiring to dishonestly obtain financial gain last month and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 27th.

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