Jarryd Hayne
The NRL star faces 20 years in jail after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman
HE WAS ONCE A HIGH-FLYING NRL star, but Jarryd Hayne now faces up to 20 years behind bars after he was charged with aggravated sexual assault. The charge follows an encounter with a woman in the NSW Hunter Valley region, on NRL Grand Final night on Sept. 30 this year.
Hayne, who played for the Parramatta Eels club this year – but is now out of contract – handed himself into Sydney’s Ryde police station at 4pm on Nov. 19. Nine hours later, following extensive questioning, detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad charged Hayne, 30, with aggravated sexual assault inflicting actual bodily harm.
Disturbingly, it is the second sexual assault allegation Hayne is fighting. The troubled NRL player faces a civil lawsuit in the US over allegations he had non- consensual sex with a woman in 2015, while he was playing for NFL team the San Francisco 49ers. Police have not pressed charges in this case due to a lack of evidence.
The recent charge comes after 9 News on Nov. 15 reported Hayne was the subject of a police investigation after a woman alleged Hayne sexually assaulted her on Sept. 30. The pair reportedly made contact via social media and met up in the Hunter Valley region. She claimed she suffered injuries while having sex with Hayne, and that she had photographic evidence.
In a statement police said: “Earlier this month, detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad commenced an investigation after receiving reports a woman had been sexually assaulted by a man she met on social media. Police will allege in court that the man attended a home in the Hunter region on Sunday, 30 September 2018, and sexually assaulted a 26-year-old woman.”
After posting $20,000 bail, Hayne emerged from the police station, but refused to speak to the media. It’s an incredible fall from grace for Hayne, who started his career with Parramatta in 2006. He abandoned the NRL to play in the US for the 49ers, but left the team in 2016.
It was while he was in the US that a woman claims Hayne sexually assaulted her. She says she was abstaining from sex until marriage, and alleges Hayne forced himself on her when she was drunk and she woke up in a “pool of blood” with “significant vaginal pain.” Hayne has denied the rape claims.
Hayne’s latest scandal could spell the end of his playing days. His former club, the Eels, were approached for this story, but declined to comment. He is due to appear at Burwood Local Court in Sydney on Dec. 10.•