Jarryd Hayne has walked free from prison but the former NRL superstar could have to wait until 2023 to face a jury again.
Mr Hayne left Cooma Correctional Centre on Tuesday afternoon after being granted bail on Tuesday morning in the wake of having his sexual assault conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal.
He was released in time to spend his 34th birthday with his family after District Court Judge Chris O’Brien on Tuesday granted him bail.
Wearing a grey shirt, prison shorts and thongs, he walked out of prison holding a box of personal items and through a throng of media.
He was picked up by two men in a white 4WD shortly before 3.30pm.
He smiled but did not answer any questions before being driven off.
The former Dally M winner and ex-NFL convert has been in jail since May last year after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman at her Newcastle home on NRL grand final night in 2018.
However, the Court of Appeal on Monday quashed his conviction and ordered he face a retrial.
Mr Hayne appeared via videolink before Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday morning in a bid to be granted bail.
Wearing prison greens, he watched on as his lawyer Ramy Qutami successfully applied for bail.
“Can you hear me?” Judge Christopher O’Brien asked.
“Yes,” Mr Hayne replied.
Judge O’Brien on Tuesday granted Mr Hayne bail on a string of conditions including he live with his wife and pay a $20,000 surety within the next seven days.
He will also be required to report to Merrylands Police Station in western Sydney three days a week and not contact the alleged victim or any witnesses.
He must also not enter the Newcastle area.
The court heard that Mr Hayne’s upcoming trial is expected to last two to three weeks.
His matter will be mentioned again on Friday to fix a trial date.
Judge O’Brien said that the trial could go ahead as early as mid-October, though it might not begin until 2023.
He has so far faced two trials over the allegations, the first in late 2020 resulting in a hung jury.
Following a second in March last year, a jury found the former Parramatta Eels fullback guilty of two counts of sexual assault, accepting the woman’s version of events that he performed sexual acts on her without her consent.
Mr Hayne has maintained the encounter was consensual and any injuries were accidental.
The woman claimed in court she never consented to sex and send Hayne messages after he left her house saying “I didn’t want to do that”.
He was charged with aggravated sexual assault in November 2018.
A jury in March last year found the former Parramatta Eels superstar guilty of two counts of sexual assault, accepting the woman’s version of events that he performed sexual acts on her without her consent.
He was subsequently sentenced by Judge Helen Syme to five years and nine months jail, with a non-parole period of three years and eight months.
Hayne immediately launched an appeal against his conviction, claiming the NSW District Court jury was given flawed directions and the verdicts were unreasonable because of inconsistencies in the evidence.
The former NRL star successfully appealed on two of the four grounds on which he relied.
His barrister Tim Game argued that the jury was given directions that were “flawed in almost every possible way” before they were sent to deliberate.
Mr Hayne has persistently maintained his innocence – stating so after he was in March found guilty by a jury.
“I‘d rather go to jail knowing I spoke the truth than be a free man living a lie,” Hayne said at the time.
During a sentence hearing in May he again reiterated his innocence, saying: “I didn’t do it.”
The NRL has said it will make a decision on whether to take back Hayne’s Dally M medals after the outcome of his court proceedings.
The former NRL superstar appeared via videolink before Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday morning in a bid to be granted bail after a win in the Court of Criminal Appeal on Monday.
Wearing prison greens, he watched on as his lawyer Ramy Qutami successfully applied for bail.
“Can you hear me?” Judge Christopher O’Brien asked.
“Yes,” Mr Hayne replied.
Hayne has been in prison since May last year after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman at her Newcastle home on NRL grand final night in 2018.
The former Dally M winner and ex-NFL convert has sat in Cooma Correctional Centre for the last nine months.
However, he on Monday had his convictions quashed after the Court of Criminal Appeal ruled the judge who presided over his trial delivered flawed directions to the jury.
Chief Justice Tom Bathurst and Justices Ian Harrison and Helen Wilson quashed his convictions and ordered he face a retrial, while his legal team were fighting to have him acquitted.
He has so far faced two trials over the allegations, the first in late 2020 resulting in a hung jury.
Following a second in March last year, a jury took three days to deliberate and find him guilty of two counts of sexual assault.
Judge O’Brien on Tuesday granted Mr Hayne bail on a string of conditions including he live with his wife and pay a $20,000 surety.
He will also be required to report to Merryland Police Station in western Sydney three days a week and not contact the alleged victim or any witnesses.
He must also not enter the Newcastle area.
The court heard that Mr Hayne’s upcoming trial is expected to last two to three weeks.
His matter will be mentioned again on Friday to fix a trial date.
Judge O’Brien said that the trial could go ahead as early as mid-October, though it might not begin until 2023.
He is expected to walk from prison at some point on Tuesday.
A District Court jury in March last year found the former Parramatta Eels superstar guilty of two counts of sexual assault, accepting the woman’s version of events that he performed digital and oral sex on her without her consent.
Mr Hayne has maintained the encounter was consensual and any injuries were accidental.
The woman claimed in court she never consented to sex and send Hayne messages after he left her house saying “I didn’t want to do that”.
He was charged with aggravated sexual assault in November 2019.
A jury in March last year found the former Parramatta Eels superstar guilty of two counts of sexual assault, accepting the woman’s version of events that he performed sexual acts on her without her consent.
He was subsequently sentenced by Judge Helen Syme to five years and nine months jail, with a non-parole period of three years and eight months.
Hayne immediately launched an appeal against his conviction, claiming the NSW District Court jury was given flawed directions and the verdicts were unreasonable because of inconsistencies in the evidence.
The former NRL star successfully appealed on two of the four grounds on which he relied.
His barrister Tim Game argued that the jury was given directions that were “flawed in almost every possible way” before they were sent to deliberate.
There is also a chance Hayne’s lawyers and the prosecution make a deal to avoid going back to trial, such as pleading guilty to a lesser charge.
Mr Hayne has persistently maintained his innocence – stating so after he was in March found guilty by a jury.
“I‘d rather go to jail knowing I spoke the truth than be a free man living a lie,” Hayne said at the time.
During a sentence hearing in May he again reiterated his innocence, saying: “I didn’t do it.”
The NRL has said it will make a decision on whether to take back Hayne’s Dally M medals after the outcome of his court proceedings.
