Jarryd Hayne ‘unequivocally and vehemently denies’ allegations of civil complaint including rape
JARRYD Hayne said he “unequivocally” insists he never raped a drunk 25-year-old restaurant worker while playing gridiron in the US. The young woman, who alleges the NRL star took her virginity has launched a civil claim against Hayne.
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JARRYD Hayne insists he never raped a 25-year-old “religious” restaurant worker while playing gridiron in the US but says he was questioned by prosecutors before they decided not to charge him.
The young woman who alleges the NRL superstar took her virginity while she was heavily intoxicated in 2015 has now launched a civil claim against Hayne in California, hiring a lawyer responsible for “David and Goliath” lawsuits against sports stars such as basketballer Kobe Bryant.
Hayne, who returned from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem three days ago for the first birthday of his daughter Bel, yesterday “unequivocally and vehemently” denied the explosive allegations which stem from when he was playing for NFL giants the San Francisco 49ers after switching football codes.
The claims were revealed in legal documents filed as part of a civil lawsuit in the Superior Court of California Santa Clara by lawyers for the woman, known as Ms V, who claims Hayne raped her at his San Jose apartment on December 21 2015 after a drunken night at a local bar.
The woman said she did not go to police until May last year because she feared she would not be believed, according to the claim.
“Mr Hayne unequivocally and vehemently denies the allegations which are the subject of the civil complaint,” Hayne’s Sydney lawyer Ramy Qutami of Madison Marcus Law Firm, said.
She reported the alleged rape around the time Hayne announced on May 15 that he was quitting the 49ers in a bid to play for Fiji in the rugby sevens at the Rio Olympics. That short-lived stint turned out to be unsuccessful.
In October last year, the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office decided no charges would be laid.
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Yesterday the DA’s office declined to comment further.
“Mr Hayne unequivocally and vehemently denies the allegations which are the subject of the civil complaint,” Hayne’s Sydney lawyer Ramy Qutami of Madison Marcus Law Firm, said.
“Mr Hayne previously addressed a complaint made to the District Attorney’s office in the County of Santa Clara in 2016 and the District Attorney did not proceed any further with the matter due to insufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations.
Mr Hayne provided all reasonable assistance to the District Attorney with that investigation.”
HAYNE ‘VEHEMENTLY DENIES’ US RAPE CLAIM
The documents were filed on December 19, two days before the expiration of California’s two-year statute of limitations for civil personal injury claims.
After the documents are served on him, which could be some weeks, Hayne, who has signed with the Parramatta Eels for 2018 after an unhappy return to the NRL with the Gold Coast Titans, will have to lodge a defence with the court.
The woman has requested a jury trial. One of the woman’s lawyers, Micha Star Liberty, yesterday said her client still suffered “vaginal floor pain” from the alleged assault.
She said the woman had taken “very seriously her moral and religious commitment to maintaining her virginity and the ability to choose the partner to which she would lose her virginity”.
According to the documents the woman is a Santa Clara local who got to know Hayne through some of his 49ers teammates.
They all met at a bar for after-dinner drinks where the woman became heavily intoxicated. One of those at the bar with Hayne that night was former 49er Bruce Miller who has since pleaded not guilty to assaulting a 70-year-old man and his adult son in September 2015.
The woman claims in her court claim that Hayne hired an Uber to return to his apartment where he told her “no kissing” and “put his hands on her shoulder and flipped her around so she was no longer facing him”.
She claims she recognised Hayne by his voice.
After sex, she woke up the next morning in “significant vaginal pain” on bloodstained sheets, it is alleged in the claim. Hayne was not there and she took his underpants “in case there was a need for testing”.
The documents claim the woman told two friends but did not go to police because she “had heard of many cases, especially involving high profile athletes where victims were discredited and even blamed”.
When she confronted Hayne on Instagram, he “admitted to the sexual contact by stating that they had ‘hooked up’, a term used to describe consensual sexual activity”, the documents claim.
In April last year she went to hospital with continuing pain but did not talk to police until May when she was told to “message and contact (Hayne) to get him to make incriminating statements confirming a sexual penetration”.
The woman’s legal team includes veteran rape claim lawyer John Clune who in 2003 represented a 19-year-old woman who claimed Kobe Bryant raped her at mountain resort where she worked at the front desk.
Two years later the case settled out of court after the woman decided not to testify in the criminal trial and Bryant issued an apology.
Hayne’s representative Mr Qutami is a Sydney lawyer whose clients have included the controversial former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer. He said Hayne would not be making any further comment.
Yesterday Hayne’s father, Manoa Thompson, said he didn’t wish to respond to questions.
The Eels said in a statement: “As with any legal matter, it is important that we follow due process and ensure that we review all relevant information available, including giving Jarryd the opportunity to respond.”
THE COURT DOCUMENTS
