Former NFL and Australian rugby player Jarryd Hayne found guilty of rape
By Ben Morse, CNN
Former Australian rugby and NFL player Jarryd Hayne has been found guilty of raping a woman in 2018.
According to CNN affiliate 7News, a jury returned a unanimous verdict in the New South Wales District Court on Tuesday afternoon.
CNN has reached out to Hayne’s lawyers.
It is the third time Hayne has faced a jury for the incident. In his first appearance, a retrial was ordered after it ended in a hung trial. He was then tried a second time and, in March 2021, Hayne was found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
The court found that he had traveled to the woman’s house on September 30, 2018, and while his taxi waited outside, Hayne assaulted the woman while she told him “no” and “stop.”
According to the court’s findings, Hayne’s “actions were forceful and rough.” The victim was said to have “felt overwhelmed by the physical disparity and the speed with which the offender assaulted her.”
As a result of Hayne’s actions, the victim suffered injuries and bleeding in her groin area, according to the court.
At the time, he was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison, with a minimum time served of three years and eight months before being eligible for parole.
After Hayne had spent nine months in prison, an appeals court overturned his convictions and ordered a third trial.
But on Tuesday, after seven days of deliberations, Hayne was again found guilty of rape. He will be sentenced at a later date, according to 7News.
Hayne has indicated that he would appeal the decision.
Outside court, Hayne maintained his innocence “100 percent.”
“I never lied to the police. I never deleted evidence. I never hid witnesses,” he said, per 7News.
Hayne is one of the National Rugby League’s most famous players, having won numerous awards for his success on the field.
He also had a brief spell in the NFL in the US, playing as a running back for the San Francisco 49ers in 2015.
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