The jury in former NRL star Jarryd Hayne’s rape trial has been urged not to have any sympathy for the famous footballer.
Prosecutor Brian Costello told the Newcastle District Court jury on Wednesday the fact Hayne, 32, had reached a level of success and fame few people had achieved in life made no difference when deciding his guilt.
In his closing address to the jury, the crown prosecutor said: ‘In this country, we are all equal before the law.’
He said any sympathy the jury felt for Hayne should not stand in the way of delivering a guilty verdict.
Former NRL player Jarryd Hayne arrives at Newcastle Court on Wednesday. The jury in the rape trial has been urged not to have any sympathy for the famous footballer
Mr Costello had earlier told the jury Hayne left a group of his footy mates watching the 2018 NRL grand final for one reason – to have sex with a woman he had never met.
‘The Crown says the reason Mr Hayne went there was for sex, pure and simple,’ he said.
Mr Costello said the former Parramatta Eels player believed he had been promised sex after exchanging flirty messages on social media with the woman.
Hayne had left a bucks party full of his drinking mates, missing out on watching the second half of the grand final because he wanted sex, the prosecutor said.
The crown case against Hayne is he arrived at the woman’s house on the outskirts of Newcastle about 9pm on September 30, 2018 – the night if the grand final – and stayed for about 45 minutes, committed two sex acts on her and caused two separate injuries to her genitalia before leaving.
Hayne said he knew the woman did not want to have sex after realising he had a taxi waiting outside but he gave the woman oral sex to please her.
Hayne, 32, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of aggravated sexual assault inflicting actual bodily harm
The woman said she told Hayne ‘no’ and ‘stop’ but he ignored her, pushed her head into the pillow and took off her pants.
Hayne denied this, saying she had willingly taken off her pants.
Mr Costello said Hayne had been rough, forceful and inconsiderate to try to get what he had come for when he attacked the woman, injuring her quite significantly.
Hayne (pictured) had left a bucks party with his mates and missed out on watching the second half of the grand final because he wanted sex, a court has heard
He said the only thing that stopped the sexual activity was because Hayne had been so rough, causing her injuries.
‘The accused’s state of mind when this all happened was a guilty one,’ the prosecutor said.
Mr Costello said once Hayne, who claimed he must have accidentally cut the woman’s vagina with his finger, realised she was injured he could not get out of the house quick enough.
Hayne (pictured) committed two sex acts on the woman and caused two separate injuries to her genitalia before leaving, the crown has alleged
Defence barrister Phillip Boulten SC, in his closing address, said the woman wanted ‘warmth and intimacy’ from Hayne and she was pleased he was in her house and wanted him there.
Mr Boulten said the woman had shown unambiguous sexual interest in Hayne and while the footballer knew she did not want sex, other sexual activity was on the cards when he went in to kiss her.
He said the woman kissed Hayne back and they moved to the next stage of intimacy, with him performing oral sex on her to please her.
Pictured: Hayne is seen outside court on Wednesday
Mr Boulten said it all went wrong when the woman was injured and there was blood everywhere, which might explain why the woman had subsequently made the sexual assault accusations against him.
The defence barrister suggested the woman could have convinced herself she had not been consenting.
Hayne had paid a taxi driver $550 to take him home to Sydney after the two-day bucks party for rugby league player Kevin Naiqama in Newcastle when he decided to pop in to the woman’s home.
The woman, now aged 28, later sent text messages to a girlfriend saying she thought Hayne had bitten her vagina and she felt violated after telling Hayne ‘no’ and ‘stop’.
Hayne, 32, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of aggravated sexual assault inflicting actual bodily harm.
The trial continues.
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