One of the judges presiding over Jarryd Hayne’s successful appeal against his rape convictions has concluded there is a “significant possibility” the NRL player is “innocent”.
Hayne was released from prison on Wednesday after the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned his convictions on two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
The two-time Dally M winner was found guilty of digitally and orally sexually assaulting a woman at his home in Newcastle after a high-profile trial in the New South Wales District Court last year.
It was the third time he had faced trial for the same incident and the second time he had been found guilty.
Hayne claims the sexual encounter was entirely consensual, but the jury accepted the woman’s version of events that she repeatedly said “no” and “stop” and was left bleeding after he removed her pants.
He continued to maintain his innocence and lodged an appeal against the convictions, which was upheld by a 2 to 1 majority by the Court of Criminal Appeals this week.
Former NRL star Jarryd Hayne is pictured leaving prison on Wednesday.
The Court of Criminal Appeal quashed their convictions on two counts of sexual intercourse without consent
Hayne has already faced trial three times on charges of digitally and verbally sexually assaulting a woman at his Newcastle home.
The appeal was based on three grounds: the first was that the verdicts were unreasonable and not supported by evidence; Second, the trial judge erred in ruling that the plaintiff did not have to present evidence about an interaction in 2021 with two people she messaged on the day of trial. alleged sexual assault in 2018 and, lastly, that the judge’s ruling resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
In her part of the ruling, Judge Deborah Sweeney disagreed with the majority by proposing to uphold the first ground of appeal that argued that the jury’s guilty verdict was unreasonable.
He proposed that Hayne be acquitted of both charges of sexual intercourse without consent, but accepted that he maintained the minority view.
The Supreme Court judge stated that Mr Hayne’s guilty verdicts were unreasonable because “it was not clear, to the required level, that (the woman) did not consent to the two sexual acts that occurred, or, if not he did, he (Mr Hayne) knew that.’
“Based on my own assessment of the quality and sufficiency of the evidence, I have a reasonable doubt that the applicant committed the crimes charged,” he said.
“I am of the opinion that there is a strong possibility that an innocent person has been convicted.”
During his playing days, Hayne was a winger, winger and revolutionary center who played representative football for New South Wales and Australia.
Hayne poses with the Dally M award at the 2009 Dally M Awards in 2009, the year he led Parramatta to an unlikely grand final.
Instead, Judge Anthony Meagher considered that the appeal should have been dismissed on all grounds because the jury could have been “satisfied beyond reasonable doubt” of Mr Hayne’s guilt.
Judge Stephen Rothman agreed with Judge Sweeney that grounds two and three should be upheld.
They were convinced that the trial judge, Mr Justice Graham Turnbull SC, was wrong to rule that the complainant did not have to give evidence about her interactions with two people on the day of the alleged rape in 2018.
The court found that the ruling, combined with a direction given to the jury by Judge Turnbull SC in relation to communications, had resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
“The jury was deprived of evidence that was relevant to its assessment of the plaintiff’s honesty,” Judge Sweeney said.
“By not allowing counsel to question the complainant about those issues and then telling the jury that in considering the claim that the complainant had lied about matters such as the deletions from her phone, they should consider whether that was ‘fairly stated,’ this created an injustice in the defendant’s trial.’
Hayne still faces an uncertain future and a decision has not yet been made on whether a fourth trial will take place.
Hayne finished his NRL career with the Gold Coast Titans after a brief spell in the United States playing in the NFL.
In upholding the appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal ordered a new trial, although noting that the decision on a fourth trial would ultimately rest with the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Judge Sweeney said she does not believe Hayne should face a fourth trial over the rape allegations.
“I am of the opinion that, given the historical circumstances of this matter, prosecuting the plaintiff for a fourth time would not be in the interest of justice,” he said.
Judge Rothman noted that Hayne had been jailed twice and spent “significant time in prison” before his convictions were overturned.
Following his third trial, Hayne was arrested on April 14 last year and served almost 14 months in custody before being released on bail on Wednesday.
He was due to be eligible for parole in May next year.
“Under the current circumstances, it is unlikely that a new trial will take place before the non-parole period expires and most of that period has already been served,” Judge Rothman said.
Hayne has already been jailed twice over rape allegations and faces the prospect of further court action in the future.
Hayne has been ordered to waive $20,000 bail and not to stalk, harass or contact the alleged victim or any witnesses.
In a statement, the state attorney said he would consider the court’s sentence.
“Any decision on a possible new trial will be made in accordance with prosecutorial guidelines,” a spokesman said.
Jarryd Hayne’s lawyer says his client is happy to return to his family after his rape convictions were overturned at the Court of Criminal Appeal on June 12, 2024.
This week’s successful appeal marks the second time Hayne has successfully won an appeal after his convictions were overturned in 2022.
The former Parramatta Eels defender left prison on Wednesday night wearing beige trousers and a white shirt as he rushed towards a waiting van.
He was required to forfeit $20,000 bail and was ordered not to stalk, harass or contact the alleged victim or any witnesses.
The former Parramatta Eels defender will reside with his wife and is prohibited from approaching any international departure point or applying for a new passport.
He will return to the NSW District Court next month to find out if he will face a fourth trial.
