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The sexual assault victim of former NRL star Jarryd Hayne has told him his crimes had left her feeling dirty, scared and ashamed.
Key points:
- There were hectic scenes as Hayne arrived at court this morning
- The jury at his first trial failed to reach a verdict
- However, he was found guilty at a retrial
A jury in March found Hayne guilty of sexually assaulting the woman on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final.
A retrial in the NSW District Court heard Hayne met the then-26-year-old at her house on the way back to Sydney from a buck’s weekend in Newcastle.
In a victim impact statement read out in Newcastle District Court today, the woman, who can’t be named, said she would never get over the pain and emotion.
“I was flooded with emotions and incomprehensible feeling.,” she said.
“Why didn’t you stop, [there were] so many questions were running through my head.
AAP: Darren Pateman
)“I felt dirty and violated, you made me feel like an object and was looking straight through me.”
There were hectic scenes as Hayne arrived at court this morning flanked by a dozen supporters.
During the trial, the Crown alleged Hayne sexually assaulted the woman in her bedroom while her mother was also in the house, causing two injuries in the process, before leaving.
He was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault.
AAP: Darren Pateman
)The woman said the incident left her “shocked and scared”.
“I have spent countless hours crying, the feeling of feeling dirty doesn’t go away,” she said.
“Sometimes I am so depressed that I can’t get out of bed.”
She told the court she was trying to recover from the ordeal.
“Yes I am destroyed and damaged but I am still standing,” she said.
Hayne took the stand as part of the hearing and said he had been poised to sign a new NRL contract with the St George Illawarra Dragons on the day he was charged in 2018.
He said the contract was worth $500,000 but that he was told it would not be going ahead due to a “media frenzy”.
The former NRL player Tim Mannah was next on the stand, giving evidence for the defence.
He provided a reference for his former team mate describing their shared love of the bible and Christian faith.
Defence barrister Richard Pontello used his submission to talk up Hayne’s reconnecting with his faith.
Mr Pontello also highlighted that there could be extra-curial punishment because Hayne was a high-profile offender whose career had been destroyed.
