Woman at centre of NRL sex scandal goes into hiding

Matthew Johns was the most high-profile participant in the 2002 group sex incident. Photo / Getty Images

The New Zealand woman at the centre of the Matthew Johns group sex scandal is in hiding, "living in a nightmare" after her revelations.

Johns' media and NRL coaching career is in tatters after the ABC's Four Corners programme last week aired new details of a 2002 group sex incident in New Zealand while he was playing for the Cronulla Sharks.

Johns was one of several Cronulla players involved in a group sex act involving a woman, identified only as Clare, in Christchurch.

Clare was 19 years old when the incident took place in 2002.

Four Corners released a statement late on Tuesday saying it wanted to answer a number of questions which had arisen in response to the story.

It said Clare was distressed after the media response towards her after the program.

"I am being harassed in the most awful ways and what is being reported by jornalists (sic) is horrible and untrue," the ABC statement reported Clare as saying.

"They have got people speaking of me that are not my friends or people I have never met.

"It feels like I am living in a nightmare. All I wanted to do was to make people aware of the culture and stop it happening to other girls."

At the time, New Zealand police investigated the woman's claims that the sex was not consensual, but all the players were cleared of any wrongdoing.

NZ police have since said they won't re-open the investigation, saying there's no new information.

Four Corners said the programme's focus was to show the "role of group sex in rugby league culture and the consequences for the woman involved", not any criminality or consent issues.

The programme said Clare was not paid for the interview and had not boasted about "fallout" from the story.

"Payment is contrary to ABC Editorial guidelines. Her only requirement was that we protect her identity," it said.

"She is in hiding from the media, and has made no comment about the consequences of the story for others."

- AAP