Rennie Scaysbrook | March 25, 2020
UPDATE: As of June 30, 2022, Mladin has been cleared of the charges relating to child molestation. You can read his response here: https://www.cyclenews.com/2022/06/article/mat-mladin-innocent-of-child-molestation-charges/
Mat Mladin, the most successful AMA Superbike racer of all-time with seven championship titles, has been arrested in Australia and charged with child sex offenses.
Mat Mladin has been charged with four child sex offenses.
Australian Motorsport Hall of Famer Mladin was taken into custody on March 13 following a lengthy police report. He appeared by video link before Magistrate Ian Guy on Wednesday, March 25, in the Campbelltown Local Court in New South Wales, Australia. He was granted bail of $50,000 and told to surrender his passport.
First reported by Australia’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper in an article penned by Daniel McGookin (you can read the story behind their paywall here) and later by Roadracing World and Superbike Planet, 48-year-old Mladin stands accused of four sex offenses, including “sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10; two counts of intentionally carry out a sex act on a child under 10, and one count of intentionally incite a child to do a sexual act on him,” according to the Daily Telegraphy article.
“This is a matter which is obviously going to go to trial,” Mladin’s lawyer told The Daily Telegraph. “There won’t be a plea of guilty. The complaint has actually provided, after 185 questions, effectively a denial of any wrongdoing by the applicant,” he said, referring to the original police interview earlier this year.
Mladin is the most successful AMA Superbike racer of all time with seven championship titles.
Mladin must be chaperoned by an adult when in the company of a child under the age of 16.
Mat Mladin retired from AMA Superbike competition following the 2009 season in which he clinched his seventh and final SBK title. He returned to Australia and removed himself from the motorcycling industry, closing down his Suzuki dealership and import businesses.
He returned to the Australian Superbike paddock in recent years, as a sponsor to young Australian Supersport and Superbike rider, Max Crocker.
Mladin’s case number is 2020/00081386 and his page can be found here. The case will return to the Campbelltown Local Court “in coming months”, according to The Daily Telegraph.
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