Hayne to face jury in November over rape charges

Former NRL star Jarryd Hayne’s rape trial is set to be heard by a NSW jury in November.

Jul 02, 2020, updated May 22, 2025
Former NRL star Jarryd Hayne has had his sexual assault convictions quashed. (Photo: AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
Former NRL star Jarryd Hayne has had his sexual assault convictions quashed. (Photo: AAP Image/Darren Pateman)

Hayne’s trial had initially been set down for May 4 in the Newcastle District Court but he rejected an offer to have his fate decided by judge alone, preferring a jury trial. The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions also wanted a jury trial.

The case was back in court on Thursday before Judge Tim Gartelmann for a case management hearing in the lead-up to the November 23 trial.

Defence lawyer Penny Musgrave told the court an issue surrounding a subpoena was still being finalised and asked for a six-week adjournment.

She was confident the issue would be sorted out before the November 23 trial.

Hayne, 32, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of aggravated sexual assault involving a woman in NSW’s Hunter Valley.

Judge Gartelmann agreed to adjourn the case to August 13 for a further case management hearing and continued Hayne’s bail.

Hayne, who was excused from attending court on Thursday and is no longer required to report to police once a week, will not have to appear in person again until November 19.

The trial is estimated to take two weeks.

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Hayne is accused of sexually assaulting a 26-year-old woman on September 30, 2018, between 8:00pm and 10:00pm in Newcastle.

Court documents state Hayne had sex with the woman without her consent and ā€œrecklessly inflicted actual bodily harmā€.

He has been on bail since his arrest and was allowed to travel to Western Australia in July last year to attend a six-month missionary course at the Youth With a Mission centre.

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The court previously heard Hayne planned to stay in a dormitory-style accommodation with other men near the evangelical Christian centre’s training campus.

Hayne was required to attend lectures and not drink alcohol.

The aggravated rape charges each carry a maximum 20-year jail term if Hayne is convicted.

-AAP

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