Why Jarryd Hayne could still be in BIG trouble for allegedly raping woman - as he faces another potentially devastating legal drama
- Ex-NRL star will not face fourth trial for alleged rape
- Appeal against guilty verdict was successful
- Was released from prison earlier this month
Footy star Jarryd Hayne will not face a fourth criminal trial for allegedly raping a woman after his appeal was successful - but he still has a civil legal suit hanging over his head with potentially serious ramifications if he's found guilty.
On Tuesday the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed that the former Parramatta and Gold Coast NRL player and his accuser will not be forced into another criminal trial.
The first trial over his alleged attack on the woman at her home in Newcastle, NSW on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final ended in a hung jury, and he successfully appealed his conviction in the second trial, paving the way for the now overturned guilty verdict in the third trial.
However, his accuser launched civil action over the alleged sexual assault in August 2021, after he was convicted at the second trial - and now that the quashing of the criminal charges against him is a formality, that matter will proceed in the NSW Supreme Court.
The lawsuit was delayed in September 2021 pending the result of Hayne's appeal against his first conviction.
The amount of compensation being sought in the lawsuit has not been revealed, but if the star's accuser is successful, any financial penalty would come at a time when Hayne is suffering from dire money problems.
His three trials saw him rack up huge legal bills, with the cost of his defence estimated at up to $13,000 a day.
According to insiders, barrister Phillip Boulten SC was charging $9,900 per day, and solicitor Penny Musgrove was on $3,000 per day.
Jarryd Hayne (pictured outside court with wife Amellia Bonnici at one of his trials) got the news he was hoping for when the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions said he will not face a fourth criminal trial for allegedly raping a woman in September 2018
However, the former Parramatta Eels and NSW State of Origin star (pictured leaving jail earlier this month after his appeal was successful) is now facing a civil lawsuit brought by the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her
Hayne was forced to sell much of his $5million property portfolio as a result - and he was also reportedly fleeced out of a huge amount of money by a conman while in jail.
The 36-year-old was reportedly conned out of $780,000 in Bitcoin by one of his fellow inmates at Cooma Correctional Centre, who convinced the star to invest with him.
Civil suits are heard by a judge, not a jury, and a far lower standard of proof is required to secure a conviction compared to a criminal case.
While criminal cases need the offence to be proven beyond reasonable doubt, a defendant in a civil matter can be found liable on the balance of probabilities, as was the case when Bruce Lehrmann was ruled to have raped Brittany Higgins on the balance of probabilities in his defamation action against Channel Ten.
The 36-year-old (pictured centre playing for Parramatta in 2018) is already under financial pressure due to the steep legal bills from his three trials - a situation that could get far worse if his accuser wins a compensation payout
It's not the first time Hayne has faced a civil case after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman.
In August 2019 he settled out of court for an undisclosed sum after a woman alleged he raped her while he was playing for the San Francisco 49ers NFL team in 2015.
Hayne's legal team revealed how they'll defend him against his Australian accuser's lawsuit shortly after his first conviction on the rape charge in September 2021.
His barrister David Baran said the case was just a 're-enactment of what was alleged in the criminal trial' and said Hayne's legal team had 'identified a whole multitude of flaws in the statement of claim'.
'The entire pleading is embarrassing and hopless,' Baran said, adding that Hayne will defend himself by repeating the claim he used in his criminal trials that the woman consented to sex with him on September 30, 2018.
Hayne (pictured returning home after his release from jail this month) settled out of court for an undisclosed sum when he was sued by a woman who accused him of raping her in 2015 when he was playing for the San Francisco 49ers NFL team
Hayne's three criminal trials were all told the woman changed her mind about having sex with Hayne after realising he had a taxi waiting outside her house.
In one text to Hayne after the encounter the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, wrote: 'I know I've talked about sex and stuff so much but I didn't want to do it after knowing the taxi was waiting for you.
'I thought you would have at least stayed? I am hurting really badly. I told mum you got a nose bleed'.
Hayne's reply was 'Go doctor tomorrow'.
Trial prosecutors alleged Hayne pulled the woman’s pants off, was rough and forceful in their sexual encounter and left her bleeding. Hayne claimed the sex was entirely consensual.
