Fall from grace: Former Eels star Jarryd Hayne behind bars until 2025
Jarryd Hayne. Photo: Daily Telegraph
He was once the biggest star in Parramatta’s NRL team, then a beloved export as he embarked on an NFL career in America. Now, Jarryd Hayne sits behind bars.
The former league star will spend at least three years in jail for sexually assaulting a woman in her Newcastle home.
The 35-year-old was found guilty on two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, after a jury decided that he orally and digitally raped a 26-year-old woman on the night of the NRL grand final in 2018.
Hayne appeared at Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court via video link, watching the proceedings from a suite at Silverwater Correction Centre where he has spent the last four weeks in custody on remand.
He sat stoically in his prison greens until the end, when he thought the feed to the court had been cut, then exclaimed “f**king three years bro, three years”.
On Friday, Judge Graham Turnbull told the court that Hayne used two hands to "reef" the complainant’s pants off in a single movement.
"He overwhelmed her in an inherently unequal contest and an indulgence of physical power to achieve some sexual gratification," he said.
Hayne was sentenced to an aggregate term of four years and nine months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of three years. The sentence was backdated to May 2022 due to time already served, meaning he could be released in just over two years.
The court heard that Hayne and the woman had been talking on Instagram and Snapchat, before he arrived at her home on September 30, 2018.
Leaving a $500 taxi outside, a very intoxicated Hayne told the driver he needed to collect a bag and went inside.
The judge said the complainant had been "open to something sexual happening if it happened in the right way" but after becoming aware of the waiting taxi she told her mother "there's no way I'm going to have sex with him".
During the trial, the woman said that Hayne closed the bedroom door and tried to kiss her even though she repeatedly said "no" and "stop".
She also told the court that Hayne "pulled her pants off in one go", performed the non-consensual sexual acts over about 30 seconds and left her bleeding. The judge accepted that "the intercourse was rough and ultimately painful," saying Hayne used the woman as "some kind of sexual object" and "did not relent voluntarily".
He also spoke of Hayne's football career and how he has greatly contributed to the community but conceded that he "will not be remembered for his moral qualities or his sporting achievements".
In a victim impact statement, the woman told the court that "she's been through hell" and is "bedevilled by a feeling of being dirty that doesn’t go away".
The judge noted that Hayne "maintains his innocence" and "has not shown any contrition or remorse".
He also stressed that the complainant had "not been passive in the face of adversity" and had "endeavored to stand up for herself".
"That night her feelings were disregarded," Judge Turnbull said.
"But she should carry no blame and in no way feel unclean.”
It was the third time Hayne faced a trial over the same incident and the second time he was found guilty.
It is expected that he will receive his prisoner classification within days and be moved to jail which protects high-profile inmates.
He has been on remand since April 14. Hayne will be eligible for release on May 6, 2025.
This article was previously published in the Parra News.