Jarryd Hayne sentenced to five years and nine months in prison for rape of a woman in 2018
Jarryd Hayne #JarrydHayne
Two-time NRL player of the year Jarryd Hayne has been given more than five years’ jail for rape of a woman in 2018.
Hayne on Thursday was sentenced to five years and nine months with a non-parole period of three years and eight months, following March’s conviction for two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
At Newcastle district court, judge Helen Syme stayed true to her word that the 33-year-old faced an “inevitable” jail term, marking the end to a two-year case which included a rehearing after a hung verdict in Newcastle in December.
Related: Jarryd Hayne has been many things over the past 15 years. Now he is a convicted criminal | Emma Kemp
The second jury spent almost 18 hours deliberating before returning the guilty verdicts, along with not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent and recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm.
Hayne had been on bail under strict conditions, including daily reporting to police, a $50,000 surety and a ban on leaving his local area on the Central Coast except for specific reasons, but was taken into custody immediately after sentencing.
During the retrial at the Sydney district court earlier this year, Hayne’s victim had testified she told the former Parramatta star she would not have sex with him, after realising the taxi he had taken to her Newcastle home in September 2018 was waiting outside for his departure.
Despite her protests of “no” and “no Jarryd”, he became “rough, forceful and inconsiderate”, pushing her face into the pillow, ripping her jeans off and raping her, she said.
Hayne testified the pair had not had “sex” as per the then-26-year-old’s request but, after kissing, she consented to him doing other sexual acts on her.
“I’d rather go to jail knowing I spoke the truth than be a free man living a lie,” Hayne said outside court after the March verdict. “It’s unfortunate, it’s disappointing but at the end of the day they’ve come to a decision and I respect that.”
