Sex workers tell woman at the centre of dropped rape charges against footy star to come out of hiding

Sex workers in Geelong say they are being unfairly targeted after rape allegations against Cats midfielder Tanner Bruhn collapsed and are urging the woman at the centre of the discredited case to come forward. 

OnlyFans creator and escort Lisa Lewis says sex workers in the area have allegedly faced hostility since charges against Bruhn and Patrick Sinnott were dropped after a key witness admitted he gave false evidence. 

The pair had been accused of raping a woman in the early hours of February 5, 2023. Prosecutors alleged they paid her for sex in a Dan Murphy's car park after meeting outside the Alley Cats strip club. Bruhn has always maintained his innocence.

During a committal hearing last month, witness Harrison Martin admitted he lied to detectives and in the witness box after being instructed by the complainant on what to say.

The Office of Public Prosecutions dropped all charges immediately, calling the witness's admissions fatal to the case. 

Bruhn, who was stood down for the entire 2025 AFL season, is set to resume training at GMHBA Stadium ahead of the 2026 campaign.

Lewis says the fallout has unfairly swept up innocent workers.

'The right thing for this girl to do now is to come out and own what she's done, for the sake of all the industry girls being targeted and wrongfully accused,' she told News Corp.

'One bad apple does not mean the whole tree is rotten. I just ask that hate is not directed toward our industry because of what one girl has done.'

Lewis, who works legally in Victoria, says online content creators including those who do not offer in-person services have received abusive messages since the allegations collapsed.

'Because she is an unknown, I and many other industry girls have already had texts in the last 24 hours from media sources and randoms on our work phones and socials asking if it was us,' she said.

'There is a lot of speculation and finger-pointing at any girl currently advertised in Geelong on sex work pages, myself included.'

Another escort, who did not want to be named, said false allegations make an already dangerous job even riskier.

'It only emboldens violent offenders, of which there are many,' she said. 

'I know girls who have been raped but not believed by police because of our profession. These false claims do not help anyone.'

In court, Martin admitted the alleged victim had told him what to say in his statement and that she had threatened to report Bruhn and Sinnott if she was not paid more money after consensual sex.

Bruhn's barrister, Dermot Dann KC, described the case as a horrible stain on the criminal justice system.

The collapse of the prosecution has renewed debate about penalties for false allegations and the need for stronger vetting of evidence before charges are laid. 

Workers say the immediate problem is the surge of abuse now directed at them. Lewis says many in the industry feel unsafe and unfairly blamed.

'We are being bombarded with hate because of someone else's actions,' she said. 

'The woman at the centre of this should come forward so innocent people are not dragged into something they had nothing to do with.'

Bruhn has not spoken publicly. His supporters say his reputation has been damaged both online and within the AFL community despite a suppression order covering his identity during proceedings.

The woman who made the original complaint cannot be identified for legal reasons.