By Georgina Mitchell
Prosecutors have not yet decided if they will proceed to a third trial for former footballer Jarryd Hayne, after his sexual assault convictions were quashed on appeal this week, a court has heard.
Mr Hayne, 34, was jailed last year for at least three years and eight months over an incident in Newcastle in September 2018 in which he allegedly assaulted a 26-year-old woman with his hands and mouth and left her bleeding from the genitals.
Jarryd Hayne leaves Cooma Correctional Centre on Wednesday after his convictions were quashed.Credit: Janie Barrett
He was released from custody on Wednesday after the NSW Court of Criminal appeal quashed his convictions on two counts of sexual intercourse without consent and ordered a retrial.
The court found there had been an error with directions given to the jury regarding the mental element of the offences, and an error in a pre-trial ruling on evidence.
On Friday, when the case was briefly mentioned in the NSW District Court, prosecutor Isha Fay said the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions was “still considering its position” regarding a third trial.
“This matter is listed for mention following a decision by the Court of Criminal Appeal allowing the accused’s appeal,” Ms Fay said.
“The Crown, at this stage, is still considering its position in relation to the possibility of a retrial. The Crown seeks a two-week adjournment.”
Mr Hayne’s solicitor Ramy Qutami did not object to the case being adjourned. He said if the trial proceeded he would apply to have it heard in Newcastle, “where it was originally listed”.
The first trial, held in Newcastle, ended in a hung jury in December 2020 after jurors said they were unable to reach a unanimous or majority verdict and no amount of time would change this.
The case was then relisted in Sydney to allow it to be heard more quickly. A jury in the second trial found Mr Hayne guilty in March 2021 after they were played audio and video of the woman’s evidence from the first trial, as well as audio of Mr Hayne’s evidence.
Speaking last year after his now-overturned conviction, Mr Hayne maintained he had a consensual encounter with the woman which ended when she began bleeding accidentally, possibly when she was nicked by his finger.
The woman said she rejected Mr Hayne’s sexual advances after realising he left his taxi waiting outside her home, but he continued, assaulting her.
The case will return to court on March 4.
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