NRL star Jarryd Hayne under investigation for Aust alleged sexual assault
Police are investigating sexual assault allegations levelled against rugby league superstar Jarryd Hayne.
A Police spokeswoman has confirmed Police are investigating an alleged sexual assault in the Hunter region of Australia in late September.
“The investigation is being led by detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad. No further information is available at this time,” she said.
The alleged incident occurred on NRL grand final night on September 30. The Nine Network reports the alleged victim had been in touch with Hayne via social media and that he travelled to a house in the Newcastle region and engaged in sex. It’s reported the woman claims she suffered injuries during the encounter and has photographic evidence to support the claims.
It is understood a complaint was first made to the NRL Integrity Unit, which notified the NSW Police Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad. The woman then filed a report directly to detectives on Monday this week.
The NRL integrity unit is understood to have interviewed the woman. An NRL spokesperson declined to comment other than to state that it is a matter for the Police.
Hayne’s representative Wayne Beavis also opted against commenting when contacted by AAP yesterday evening. Hayne is currently without an NRL club after finishing the season for Parramatta. The Eels had been keen to offer him a new one-year deal but have only AU$200,000 (NZ$213,000, FJ$307,071.91) left in their salary cap, well short of Hayne’s apparent US$700,000 (NZ$748,000, FJ$1,078,711.79) asking price. The club had been attempting to offload players in order to free up the funds required to table something resembling the cross-code star’s market value.
Hayne has also been linked to a switch to St George Illawarra, who are on the hunt for a marquee back following the departure of Nene Macdonald and the retirement of Jason Nightingale.
It is the second sexual assault allegation made against Hayne, who remains in a protracted legal battle launched against him in the US in December last year. It alleges Hayne committed a sexual assault on a woman while in the US playing NFL for the San Francisco 49ers in December 2015, making claims of sexual battery, gender violence, infliction of emotional distress and negligence. Hayne is understood to have met the woman, referred to in court documents as “Ms V,” at The Willow Den bar on Lincoln Avenue in San Jose, before allegedly taking her back to his apartment and having non-consensual sex. The civil suit against Hayne came more than one year after the case was reviewed and rejected by the District Attorney’s Office, which concluded there was not enough evidence to prove the crime of rape beyond reasonable doubt.
Last year the Herald revealed the woman at the centre of the allegation was a devout Christian who was saving her virginity for marriage when the alleged incident occurred in 2015.
She is seeking undisclosed “monetary damages” over the alleged incident. The woman’s lawyer Micha Star Liberty told the Herald last year that the woman’s faith was paramount in the consideration of general damages, which seek to quantify the “pain and suffering” experienced.
Hayne vehemently denies the allegation and maintains that the sexual intercourse was consensual.
After an unsuccessful attempt at mediation talks between the two parties in May, the case is set to proceed. However, a US trial date may not be set until late 2019 or in 2020.