Jarryd Hayne wants barrister Margaret Cunneen SC for his third rape trial

Margaret Cunneen SC convinced a judge to jail the notorious Skaf rapists for a combined 240 years. Now Jarryd Hayne wants to hire her for the third instalment of his rape trial.

Ex-NRL star Jarryd Hayne wants to be represented by Margaret Cunneen SC, the barrister who put the notorious Skaf gang rapists in jail for a combined 240 years.

The Saturday Telegraph can reveal the former Parramatta Eels player has selected Ms Cunneen as the barrister he wants to defend him when the third instalment of his rape trial goes ahead either this year or in 2023.

Ms Cunneen declined to comment when contacted.

Jarryd Hayne’s conviction was overturned. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Top barrister Margaret Cunneen SC. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The senior lawyer worked for 28 years as a crown prosecutor with the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions before crossing over to become a defence barrister in 2019.

She is well-known for her work as a prosecuting lawyer in the cases of Bilal Skaf and his fellow gang members, who were jailed for a combined 240 years in 2002 before the sentences were reduced on appeal.

The 63-year-old barrister is now in high demand as a ­defence lawyer.

She represented Chinese film producer Jing Wang, who was found not guilty alongside Asian movie star Yunxiang Gao of sexually assaulting a woman in Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel in 2018.

But whether Ms Cunneen will represent Hayne will hinge on the outcome of his hearing which is listed for the Downing Centre District Court on Monday.

It is listed for an argument over whether the case will be heard in Newcastle District Court or in ­Sydney. Ms Cunneen is booked out for court appearances for the rest of the year.

Hayne after being found guilty of sexual assault last March. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Christian Gilles

Hayne has requested the case be heard in Newcastle, but backlogs at that court mean the case would not get under way until next year, meaning Ms Cunneen could be available to do the trial.

That would not be the case if it is ruled the trial must be heard earlier in Sydney.

Hayne is accused of raping a woman inside her home in Fletcher, near Newcastle, in September 2018. The 34-year-old has pleaded not guilty and always strongly maintained his innocence.

His first trial, which was heard in Newcastle, ended in a hung jury in December 2020.

The second trial was moved to the Downing Centre District Court to prevent the case being delayed. In March 2021, Hayne was found guilty by a jury of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

He was jailed in May for five years and nine months.

But the decision was overturned in February by the Court of Criminal Appeal, which found the trial judge misdirected the jury.

Hayne walked out of Cooma Jail on his 34th birthday after being granted bail.

The ODPP elected to take the matter to trial a third time on March 4.

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