By Sarah McPhee
The 12-person jury in the sexual assault trial of former NRL player Jarryd Hayne has sent a second note to the judge indicating they are unable to unanimously agree following a week of deliberations.
Hayne, 35, pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual intercourse without consent relating to a 26-year-old woman on September 30, 2018, when he was alleged to have assaulted her with his hands and mouth and left her bleeding from the genitals. The defence claimed the acts of digital penetration and oral sex were entirely consensual.
Jarryd Hayne outside court on Tuesday with his wife Amellia Bonnici.Credit: Nikki Short
Shortly before 12.30pm on Monday, the jury of six men and six women sent their first note to the court, saying they were unable to reach a unanimous decision and were “seeking guidance on how to proceed”.
Judge Graham Turnbull, SC, acknowledged there had been lengthy discussions and that he did have the power to discharge them, but said he was required to ask them to persevere.
On Tuesday morning, after more than 20 hours of deliberations, the judge again told the jury, “if you are having trouble, you should send us a note, let us know”.
“I only say that for the obvious reason ... you’ve been diligently addressing these matters for some days now,” he said. The jury retired to deliberate on March 27.
The judge emphasised that the jury were to put aside stereotypes and only have regard to the evidence in the trial and “what went on within these four walls”.
The jury sent a second note on Tuesday afternoon, saying they had taken another vote and “made progress” but were “not at a unanimous decision”, and asked for clarification on whether “ignorance is a sufficient defence”.
The judge responded that the short answer was “no”.
“In this case you must remember the burden of proof is on the Crown, and not the accused, and the accused does not have to prove anything,” the judge said.
“In relation to this case, neither the complainant nor the accused misunderstood that it was anything but illegal to force yourself on a woman without her consent, whether it be digitally or orally.
“It’s no part of the accused’s evidence that he did not know that it was illegal to have digital or oral intercourse with someone without their consent.
“He has given an explanation and I remind you, if you accept that explanation as true or possibly true, then that constitutes a reasonable doubt, and he is entitled to be acquitted.”
The judge said the Crown case was that the woman never consented to any sexual activity by her words or conduct conveyed “explicitly” to Hayne. He asked the jury to continue deliberations.
The former NRL star is accused of sexual assault on grand final night 2018.Credit: Nikki Short
Hayne’s third trial, held in Sydney’s John Maddison Tower, heard 11 days of evidence before the jury retired to consider their verdicts.
The jury was played hours of recorded evidence from both Hayne and the complainant, and also heard from witnesses including the woman’s mother, sister, brother-in-law, best friend and police.
Hayne, a former Parramatta Eels player in the NRL, has been supported by wife Amellia Bonnici, mother Jodie Hayne, father Manoa Thompson and other family and friends.
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