of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent relating to non-consensual oral sex and the digital penetration of a 26-year-old woman in Newcastle on the night of the NRL grand final in 2018.
Jarryd Hayne was taken into custody in April after his bail was revoked.Brook Mitchell
Hayne appeared in person for his sentence hearing in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Monday,sporting a thick beard and wearing a prison green jumper and pants as he sat in the dock,supported by half a dozen people.
His wife,Amellia Bonnici,was not present,but watched proceedings via video link.
Judge Graham Turnbull will sentence Hayne on Friday.
In an updated victim impact statement,read to the court by Crown prosecutor John Sfinas,the now 30-year-old victim said,“I still don’t know how to put any of this into words.”
Jarryd Hayne,with wife Amellia Bonnici,outside court on April 4 after he was found guilty of sexual assault.Nikki Short
She said her life “has been launched into what feels like a never-ending nightmare” since September 2018,more than 4½ years ago.
“After going through the first and second trials,I was hoping this would all be over,and I could finally try and move on with my life,” she said.
“I have not been able to move on or feel any sense of peace.”
She said each time she feels she is starting to recover mentally,something new will arise such as a court date,and she relives “the same trauma over and over”.
The woman said discussion of the incident on social media and reporting in the media had been “extremely difficult to handle”.
“Those things don’t just hurt,but they stay with me,” she said.
“This assault was something horrible that happened to me,something I feel that was very private,yet people speak about it like they were there.”
The woman said she remained “extremely insecure” about her body.
“I am stronger,and I am wiser,but I am damaged,and I won’t ever be the same person,” she said.
Hayne’s trial heard he stopped at the woman’s home in the Newcastle suburb of Fletcher on September 30,2018,on his way back to Sydney after a bucks’ weekend,leaving a $550 taxi outside and telling the driver he needed to collect a bag.
was that the possibility of sex evaporated for the woman when she became aware of the waiting vehicle,after a knock at the door or a beep of the taxi’s horn.
In her evidence,including recordings played in closed court,the woman said Hayne was rough and forceful and performed the acts despite her protestations of “no” and “stop”,.
Sfinas said Hayne was motivated by his own sexual gratification and engendered fear into the victim.
Defence barrister Margaret Cunneen,SC,submitted,regarding the context of the offending,there had been “unambiguous sexual contact leading up to the visit”,and “there was talking about f---ing by the complainant”.
In reply,the prosecutor said:“In any event,when the time came,there was unambiguous lack of consent.”
Cunneen argued the nature of the sexual offences,as oral and digital acts over 30 seconds,was a matter “tending towards less seriousness”. She said Hayne was a “very different man now”.
“His life ... has turned around considerably since that hiatus in his relationship with his now-wife.”
A number of character references and letters were tendered including from Bonnici,Hayne’s mother and his pastor,who Cunneen said spoke of his “commitment to his Christian faith”.
Cunneen said Bonnici was not in court due to media interest,but “continues to give her full support to her husband”.
She said her client had been held in onerous conditions on remand in a three-by-four-metre cell at Silverwater prison and allowed outside for 15 to 20 minutes each day.
Cunneen said Hayne would serve his sentence “entirely in protective custody”,noting a forensic psychologist reported there were “unique hardships associated with his incarceration”.
“He can’t even get a haircut because he’s not allowed to mix with anyone,” Cunneen said.
She said Hayne had lost a “stellar rugby league career”,including an “extremely lucrative contract”,and the public vilification had impacted his ability to regain employment during proceedings and in the future.
10 days after the most recent guilty verdicts.
His first trial ended in a hung jury,but he was convicted by a second jury and jailed in 2021 for five years and nine months,with a non-parole period of three years and eight months. However,he served just nine months behind bars due to his convictions being quashed on appeal and a retrial ordered.
The complainant,who gave evidence at Hayne’s first trial which was replayed at his second trial,was recalled to give evidence at the third trial.
“Her courage is to be commended,” the judge said.
The court heard Hayne’s sentence will be backdated to account for his previous time in custody.
Hayne has always maintained his innocence. His lawyers have indicated an intention to appeal.
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