Australian Rugby Star Jarryd Hayne Wins Appeal in Rape Case

Facts

• Jarryd Hayne, one of the most high-profile athletes in Australia's National Rugby League, has won an appeal to overturn his sexual assault convictions and get released on bail from prison.¹
• This comes as a 2-1 majority in the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal found on Wednesday that his lawyers should have been allowed to cross-examine the complainant about messages she sent to a woman, which they claim could prove his innocence.²
• The 36-year-old was serving a four-year and nine-month prison sentence with a three-year non-parole period since May 2023 after a jury found him guilty on two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.³
• This is the second time that Hayne successfully appealed to overturn his conviction on the grounds of procedural errors. His first trial, which took place in 2020, ended in a hung jury.⁴
• Hayne's case is scheduled to return to court late next month when Crown prosecutors are expected to formally indicate whether or not he will face another retrial.⁵
• The two-time Australia's Rugby League MVP played one season with the San Francisco 49ers as a kick returner and running back in 2015, making 79 yards and scoring no touchdowns in the eight games he played in.⁶

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²The Sydney Morning Herald, ³Guardian, ⁴FOX News, ⁵ABC Australia and ⁶France 24.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Women's Agenda. Three trials, two convictions, and six years after the alleged incident, Hayne is free yet again. Not only has Australia's justice system failed to deliver justice in this case, but it has also repeatedly re-victimized the woman at the very center of this case.
• Narrative B, as provided by The Australian. No one wants a sexual predator to go unpunished, but can someone affirm that Hayne is really one when his past two convictions were overturned due to miscarriage of justice? The fact that he has already served nearly one-quarter of a now-void sentence indicates that the criminal justice system isn't fair and reasonable to both victim and defendant.