CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses sexual assault.
The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal has upheld Jarryd Hayne’s appeal to overturn his rape conviction, with the possibility of the disgraced NRL player heading back to trial for the fourth time.
The court decided to order a new trial on Wednesday, but this will be up to the state’s top prosecutor.
“The court will quash the two convictions and order that there be a new trial,” Justice Stephen Rothman said.
“Whether there is in fact a further trial is a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions.”
In April 2023, Hayne was convicted by a jury during a third trial for two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, which took place on September 30, 2018 – the night of the NRL Grand Final. The first trial in 2020 resulted in a hung jury, and a successful appeal overturned his guilty verdict in 2021 during his second trial.
After Hayne was found guilty, District Court Judge Graham Turnbull sentenced Hayne to serve a maximum of four years and nine months behind bars, with parole not permitted until three years have passed.
Jarryd Hayne’s appeal has been successful. (Image: Getty)
What happened in Jarryd Hayne’s latest appeal?
During Hayne’s appeal in 2024, his lawyer Tim Game SC argued the accuser hid evidence on purpose.
His lawyers argued for an appeal on three grounds: the verdicts could not be supported by the evidence or were unreasonable, the trial judge erred when ruling the woman didn’t have to give evidence around certain interactions with others from the day of the incident and in the aftermath, and this meant there was a “miscarriage of justice”.
According to his barrister, his accuser deleted text messages sent between the two parties that showed she allegedly originally had sexual interest in the sports star. Game claimed the deleted messages were a “concealment of evidence on a large scale”.
“We say concealment, of course, is the same as lying or deception,” he told the court.
The Crown’s lawyer, Georgina Wright SC, dismissed this by saying the woman’s decision to delete messages was a regular concurrence, and saying it wasn’t to “curate the narrative”.
Will Jarryd Hayne get a fourth trial?
According to Rothman, there is “good reason” for a fourth trial to not proceed.
“While there may be very good reason why, in circumstances where an accused has suffered three trials and already served significant time in prison, a new trial may not be warranted, in my view, that is a consideration that should be left to the Director of Public Prosecutions or her delegate,” he said.
“It is unlikely that a new trial will occur before the expiry of the non-parole period [in May 2025] and most of that period has already been served… in my view, given that the ground of unreasonable verdict was not upheld, the discretion not to undertake a fourth trial is one to be exercised by the Crown.”
Justice Rothman asked the court if there were reasons he shouldn’t grant Hayne bail, and is expected to return at noon to hear the Crown’s argument.
More to come.
Help is available.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
- If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
Feature image: Getty
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