Disgraced former NRL star Jarryd Hayne will be spending the next two days with his loved ones as he faces the prospect of spending Easter behind bars.
After five years, three trials, an appeal and nine months in prison, Hayne has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman at her Newcastle home in 2018.
It was the third time the Dally M winner has faced a trial over the same incident, and the second time he was found guilty.
While he claims the sexual encounter was entirely consensual, the jury accepted the woman’s version of events that she repeatedly said “no” and ”stop”.
A POSSIBLE APPEAL
The 35-year-old plans to appeal the conviction, telling media outside court he was “pretty confident” it would go in his favour.
His defence barrister Margaret Cunneen SC also indicated she would “definitely” be going ahead with an appeal, after leaving court looking upset.
Outside the court Hayne clutched the hand of his wife Amelia Bonnici as he told an awaiting media scrum he was “devastated”.
He stopped for a moment, blinking back tears as he told media he plans to “keep standing for the truth”.
When asked if he maintained his innocence, he said “100 per cent”.
“I never lied to police, I never deleted evidence, I never hid witnesses, do the maths,” Hayne said.
He refused to comment when asked if he thought he had a fair trial.
“Did I lie? Did I lie? That’s factual evidence,” he said.
Hayne was referring to evidence heard before the jury that the victim had deleted 22 messages from her mobile phone before speaking to police.
Deleted messages include some sent to Hayne, a friend and another man on the day of the assault.
MAXIMUM PENALTY
Hayne is facing a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison but was granted bail until Thursday when Crown prosecutor John Sfinas would apply to have him detained.
Judge Turnbull granted the adjournment to allow Hayne to get his affairs sorted before he is possibly taken into the custody.
“He’s entitled quite frankly to bring forward what material he can get,” the Judge said.
“The extension of bail is in no way an indication of the ultimate outcome.”
Hayne spent nine months behind bars after he was sentenced for five years and nine months following the second trial in 2021.
He was released when the conviction was successfully overturned on appeal.
TWO DAYS OF FREEDOM
Hayne is now getting his affairs in order and spending time with family before he is possibly taken into custody.
Mr Sfinas told the court on Tuesday he would be ready to proceed to sentence fairly quickly, but Judge Turnbull said he would adjourn the matter for a detention application.
The 35-year-old and his wife are both devout Christians, but he is now facing the possibility of spending Easter behind bars and away from his family.
With less than two days of freedom, he told media he plans to spend the time with his loved ones.
“I’ll obviously be spending it with close ones,” he said.
THE VERDICT
The jury of six men and six women took almost 23 hours to come to the decision, before the foreman said the word “guilty” to the courtroom just after 3.30pm Tuesday.
It came after allegations of bullying in the jury room, where the court heard a juror sent a note to the judge saying they had “burst into tears” because of how they were being treated.
For more than 18 hours, the jury had not asked for any help or guidance until midday on Monday where they said they were “struggling” to come to a unanimous decision.
Just over 24 hours later, they would send a second note saying they had made progress, but questioned whether “ignorance of the law” was a suitable defence.
Judge Graham Turnbull SC gave the short answer: “no”.
They shuffled back into the jury room where it would take them less than an hour to decide Hayne’s fate.
Hayne’s defence barrister Margaret Cunneen SC had just stood at the bar table, after doing a sign of the cross before entering the room, and indicated she wanted to say something about the jury’s earlier note.
But she would be cut off by the judge saying he was handed a verdict.
More than a dozen friends and family filled the first two rows of the public gallery.
Murmurs spread around the group as supporters and media exchanged glances, readying themselves.
Hayne stood as the jury re-entered the room before the foreman said they had found the 35-year-old guilty on both counts of sexual assault without consent.
The six foot two former footy player stood with his hands on his hips, before slumping back in his chair, shaking his head.
His wife leant forward in her seat with her head in her hands as the verdicts were handed down, crying and shaking.
Jodie Hayne, his mother, also leant forward and held back tears as she looked around the room in disbelief.
During a brief adjournment, Hayne went over to Ms Bonnici and hugged her as she cried into his chest.
Hayne will return to court on Thursday for a detention application.
