Jarryd Hayne does not have to face a fourth rape trial

Former NRL star Jarryd Hayne will not face a fourth trial on charges of raping a woman after his convictions were overturned for a second time.

Hayne has been behind bars for more than a year since a jury found him guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent in April 2023.

The 36-year-old was released from prison on June 12 after successfully appealing the convictions in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.

The Attorney General’s office confirmed in a statement Tuesday that Hayne would not be tried a fourth time.

“After carefully considering the numerous competing factors underlying the public interest assessment in this case, the ODPP has decided not to bring a fourth investigation against Mr Hayne,” the statement said.

“The decision was made in accordance with the guidelines of the public prosecutor’s office.

“Because the reasons for the decision are legally confidential, they will not be disclosed and the ODPP will have no further comment.”

Hayne was accused of raping a woman with his hands and mouth in her Newcastle home on the night of the 2018 NRL Grand Final.

Three separate criminal trials found that the woman, whose identity cannot be determined, changed her mind about having sex with Hayne after she realized there was a taxi waiting for him outside.

He was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, but had already served part of that time before successfully appealing.

The state’s highest court overturned Haynes’ convictions, ruling that the trial judge had erred in not allowing further cross-examination of the plaintiff about her communications with third parties regarding the night of the alleged sexual assault.

The appeals court ruled that the judge failed to properly instruct the jury on Haynes’ lawyers’ claims that the plaintiff had lied about the contact, an even worse error than the previous error of not giving her an opportunity to answer questions about it.

Judge Stephen Rothman said the court’s published reasoning gave good reasons not to proceed with a fourth trial, noting that it was unlikely to happen before Haynes’ three-year probation expires in May 2025.

Judge Deborah Sweeney took a similar view given the history of the case.

“Trying Hayne for a fourth time would not be in the interests of justice,” she said.

Haynes’ overturned convictions followed a hung jury in his first trial in 2020 and a previous appeal that overturned guilty verdicts from his second trial in 2021.

After his release from prison, Haynes’ attorney Lauren MacDougall said he was “really, really looking forward to coming home to his family.”

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National Support Service for Victims of Sexual Abuse and Reparation 1800 211 028