Mr Hayne, 32, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault causing actual bodily harm over the incident on grand final night in 2018.Prosecutors allege the former Parramatta Eels and NSW back assaulted the woman at her home in Fletcher after a weekend in the Hunter for a friend’s buck’s party.
Police allege he forced himself on the woman using his fingers and mouth and injured her in the process.Mr Hayne has maintained his innocence, claiming the sex was consensual and the woman’s injuries were accidental.After a trial before the Newcastle District Court in November, a jury was unable to reach either unanimous or majority verdicts on either count.Outside court, Mr Hayne said he was “disappointed” with the result but “it is what it is”.
The jury was discharged and a new trial date was later set down to go ahead in Sydney on March 8.On Friday the Downing Centre District Court heard that date had been confirmed for what is expected to be a 10-day trial.The new trial will take place in Sydney, as the earliest available date at the Newcastle complex was not until late 2021.
The matter will return to court on February 25 for pre-trial legal arguments before the jury trial gets under way.Mr Hayne was married to long-time partner Amellia Bonnici this week at a private ceremony on the NSW central coast.Ms Bonnici, the mother of the footy star’s young daughter, was a regular fixture as a supporter at court throughout her husband’s trial in 2020.The wedding came on Australia Day, after Mr Hayne proposed on Christmas Day.
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