Jarryd Hayne has fronted court for sentencing where he faces up to 14 years in jail after after being found guilty of two counts of rape.
The former NRL star arrived at court in Newcastle in the rain on Thursday shielded by an umbrella and sunglasses, surrounded by dozens of friends and family.
The 33-year-old will hear his fate after a NSW District Court jury found him guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent in March.
Hayne’s victim read an emotional statement to the court saying it was the ‘hardest thing’ she’s ever had to do and she still has nightmares over the rape.
‘Nothing I say will ever explain my feelings inside but I can only try or I might regret it for the rest of my life,’ the woman said.
‘Working out how to turn my emotions, experience & thoughts into words… To explain how this has impacted my life, is the hardest thing I’ve had to do.
‘I have spent countless hours crying, the feeling of violation and feeling dirty doesn’t go away. I have nightmares and flashbacks of his face looking right through me. Sometimes I can’t get out of bed.’
Hayne’s former captain Tim Mannah gave a character reference for the man he described as his best friend.
Mannah said he noticed a change in his former Parramatta Eels teammate since going to Bible college in Perth, saying he can’t go one sentence ‘without him talking about something from the bible’.
Jarryd Hayne has fronted court for sentencing where he faces up to 14 years in jail after after being found of two counts of rape
Hayne, 33, arrives at court in Newcastle to hear his fate after a NSW District Court jury found him guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent in March
Jarryd Hayne (pictured, centre) look relaxed while catching up with former NRL teammate Corey Norman (right) and a frind (left), two days out from being sentenced for rape
Hayne, 33, has kept a low profile since the trial, where bail was given with a $50,000 surety.
Hayne has been spending time with new wife Amellia Bonnici and their four-year-old daughter Beliviah Ivy Hayne after he was warned by Judge Helen Syme at his trial that jail was ‘inevitable’.
He spent the Easter long weekend at Ettalong Beach on the NSW Central Coast, playing with a football in the ocean and swimming with family and friends.
‘He was relaxed and smiling, throwing a ball with a mate and a child,’ an onlooker told The Australian at the time.
‘He spent hours on the beach and in the water. You’d never know from looking at him that these are possibly his final days of freedom.’
He proposed to Ms Bonnici on Christmas Day and married in a secret ceremony a month later on Australia Day, which coincided with their five year anniversary
He was found not guilty of the more serious alternative charges of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent inflicting actual bodily harm, which would have carried an even longer sentence.
‘I’d rather go to jail knowing I spoke the truth than be a free man living a lie,’ he said outside court following his guilty verdict in March.
Hayne shields his face under an umbrella and sunglasses as he arrives at court in Newcastle
Dressed in a black suit and tie, Hayne, 33, bowed his head in the witness box as the first guilty verdict to a rape charge was entered in March
The former Parramatta Eels and Gold Coast Titans NRL star was once celebrated as a preeminent Australian sports star – the product of a house commission family from Minto in Sydney’s west who became one of the country’s most recognisable and revered athletes.
Hayne put together one of the finest individual seasons in rugby league history in 2009, leading the Eels to the grand final and winning the Dally M medal as the game’s finest player.
He also had a two-year hiatus to attempt to crack America’s National Football League, playing pre-season games with the San Francisco 49ers.
The fame and riches the devout Christian once enjoyed will now come to an abrupt end as he faces the prospect of years behind bars.
Jarryd Hayne proposed to Amellia Bonnici on Christmas Day and the couple married a month later – but he is now likely to be sent to jail after being found guilty of rape
Corey Norman (right) has come under fire for posting a photo hanging out with Hayne two days out from being sentenced. The negative comments pictured were later deleted
He made a rare appearance on social media on the Instagram of former NRL teammate Corey Norman on Tuesday, two days out from learning his fate in Newcastle District Court.
The St George Illawarra Dragons star uploaded a photo of himself catching up with Hayne and a friend.
‘Catch ups,’ Norman captioned the photo, along with an emoji depicting two raised hands.
Casually dressed in a hoodie, tracksuit pants and trainers, Hayne looked relaxed as he grinned for the camera, despite an ‘inevitable’ jail sentence looming over him.
Norman has come under fire for the timing of the photo two days out from Hayne’s sentencing as negative comments were quickly deleted.
‘Catch ya’s ** before Hayne goes to jail,’ one commented.
Another added: ‘How long until this gets deleted?’
‘Saying goodbye,’ another follower quipped.
Some followers leapt to Norman’s defence.
‘Why bother following Normy if your all just gonna leave s*** comments like that. Man people need to give it a rest,’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘All these haters they only read media reports. Get a life ya fools and stop reading the news.’
Comments on the post were later deactivated.
Hayne is seen outside court on March 22 with his wife Amellia Bonnici (pictured) before he was found guilty
Once regarded as one of the biggest superstars in the NRL, Jarryd Hayne faces up to 14 years behind bars when he’s sentenced on Thursday
Hayne put together one of the finest individual seasons in rugby league history in 2009, leading the Eels to the grand final and winning the Dally M medal as the game’s finest player
Hayne was raised in Housing Commission flats in western Sydney by his single mother Jodie, who slept by the door to ensure her children would be safe from home invaders.
His father is former rugby league star Manoa Thompson, who was absent when Hayne was growing up but reunited with his son later in life.
After showing his prodigious football talent at Westfields Sports High School he signed with the Parramatta Eels and immediately became one of the game’s top performers.
Despite never having played the sport before, Hayne successfully made the San Francisco 49ers roster in 2015
He narrowly avoided being shot by a bikie gang member during a night out in Sydney’s Kings Cross in 2008 – a moment Hayne later said changed his life.
He turned to religion after playing for the Fijian rugby league team at the 2008 World Cup in what was a tumultuous year for the young footballer.
Hayne later became the poster boy for Hillsong, a contemporary Pentecostal church.
The next year Hayne broke out as a bona fide superstar – winning the prestigious Dally M medal aged just 21 and leading the Eels to the NRL grand final.
Seeking a new challenge, he ditched his $2million contract with Parramatta in 2014, flew to America and tried to make it in one of the toughest sporting leagues in the world as a completely inexperienced rookie.
The footballer met and had sex with his accuser in the Hunter region on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final on September 30, after they began messaging on social media.
The 26-year-old woman claimed she and Hayne were having consensual sex but she ‘withdrew her consent’.
She allegedly suffered injuries during the sexual encounter with Hayne and required medical treatment.
Hayne was raised in Housing Commission flats in western Sydney by his single mother Jodie, who slept by the door to ensure her children would be safe from home invaders
The woman originally made a complaint to the NRL’s Integrity Unit about the incident which referred the woman to the police.
The footy star also settled a civil case in the United States after a woman claimed he raped her while he was a member of the San Francisco 49ers in 2015.
Police declined to charge Hayne after investigating the allegations, and the woman lodged a civil suit in relation to an alleged incident in San Jose, California.
The woman alleged the pair met at a bar following a game between the 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals.
She alleged Hayne took her back to his home in an Uber where he raped her.
The woman says she doesn’t have a strong recollection of the alleged incident, only that someone of Hayne’s build was coming towards her before the alleged rape.
The case was settled in 2019.