Juan J. Monroe 
Australian cricket chiefs said on Monday they were taking part in a police investigation into shocking allegations that an under-19 cricketer was sexually assaulted while touring India and Sri Lanka in the 1980s .
Cricket Australia have said they support ex-Australian Under-19 Jamie Mitchell, whose claims he was raped on the tour by a team official were first reported by the national broadcaster ABC Sunday.
“We recognize and applaud Jamie Mitchell’s courage to speak out about his experience,” the governing body said in a statement, adding that it was “fully assisting” with a police investigation.
“We have zero tolerance for any form of abuse,” said Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley.
Mitchell told ABC he was sexually assaulted in Colombo on the last night of the tour in 1985.
A team official named in the ABC report has denied any wrongdoing and no charges have been filed.
“Instead of being a highlight of my life as a cricketer, this tour has caused me trauma and distress for many years,” Mitchell said in a statement released by his lawyers to Australian media.
“Cricket Australia has a chance to stand out by facing this issue and doing the right thing.
“And that means transparency, starting with appropriate answers to many questions. I will send a list of these to Cricket Australia.”
Former Australia captain Greg Chappell, who was national manager at the time of the alleged attack, told Nine Entertainment newspapers he was appalled by the allegations.
“I hope CA will respond in a humane way and treat individuals with empathy rather than trying to defend the organization,” he said.
“It was a shocking revelation. I would have hoped nothing like this had happened, but realism tells you that other areas of life have seen this sort of thing happen.”
A spokesperson for the Australian Federal Police said it did not comment on “specific investigations”.
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