Back in 2016, Jarryd Hayne decided to retire from the National Football League to pursue his Olympic dream and return to his his original sport on a permanent basis.
Two years after that, he was facing charges after he was arrested in Australia for aggravated sexual assault.
Fast forward to 2021 and Hayne has now been convicted of sexual assault and facing 14 years in prison.
A jury in Sydney, Australia found the 33-year-old guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent. The woman claimed Hayne had performed sexual acts on her without her consent and caused multiple injuries.
According to News.com.au, a bloody and graphic two-second video and a phone call played a key role as Jarryd Hayne was convicted of sexual assault.
During her evidence, the woman said she had refused to have sex with him because he had a taxi waiting outside.
Soon after he had left, the woman sent him a string of text messages saying “I am hurting so much” and “I know I’ve talked about sex and stuff so much but I didn’t want to do that after knowing the taxi was waiting for you”.
Mr Hayne replied: “Go doctor tomorrow.”
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The woman says she was not going to consent to sex when she heard the taxi beeping outside her bedroom window.
“Like my heart dropped because I felt like he had only come there for one thing,” she said in her testimony.
“… I felt saddened because I felt like he must have only seen me in one type of way.”
Jarryd spoke with media members outside of the courthouse after the verdict on Monday:
“I’d rather go to jail knowing I spoke the truth than be a free man living a lie,” Hayne said … “It’s unfortunate, it’s disappointing. But at the end of the day, they’ve come to the decision. I respect that.”
He said that he would “definitely appeal” the guilty verdict.
