Recently, a court in Australia heard that the alleged victim of former NRL player Jarryd Hayne had deleted text messages from her phone before providing it to police. The case, which is being heard in the Newcastle District Court, involves allegations that Hayne sexually assaulted a woman in her home in 2018.
The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court that she had deleted some text messages from her phone before handing it over to police. She said that she had done this because she felt embarrassed about some of the messages and didn’t want them to be seen by anyone else. The woman also said that she had not deleted any messages related to the alleged assault.
The court heard that the woman had been in contact with Hayne on the night of the alleged assault and that they had exchanged text messages. The prosecution argued that these messages could provide important evidence in the case and should not have been deleted.
The defence argued that the woman had not deliberately deleted any messages related to the alleged assault and that it was possible that some of them had been deleted accidentally. They also argued that the woman had not acted with any malicious intent when deleting the messages.
The court will now consider whether or not the deleted messages are relevant to the case and whether they should be allowed as evidence. It is expected that the case will continue for some time before a verdict is reached.
This case has highlighted the importance of preserving digital evidence in cases involving alleged sexual assault. It is essential that victims of such crimes are aware of their rights and responsibilities when it comes to providing evidence to police. It is also important that victims are aware of the potential consequences of deleting digital evidence, as this could have a significant impact on the outcome of a case.
