An Australian rugby star who also briefly played in the NFL had has a sexual assault conviction overturned.
Jarryd Hayne, who appeared in eight games as a running back for the 49ers in 2015, has served more than nine months of a 44-month minimum sentence for allegedly sexually assaulting a 26-year-old woman in her home in 2018. But the Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the conviction on Monday in Australia and ordered a retrial before the NSW District Court, according to multiple news reports.
The 33-year-old Hayne’s first trial resulted in a hung jury, and he appealed his second-trial conviction on two counts of sexual assault in March, claiming there were “inconsistencies in the evidence” and “flawed directions” given to the jury.
Hayne has maintained his innocence publicly, stating in March of last year, “I‘d rather go to jail knowing I spoke the truth than be a free man living a lie.”
Hayne played for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League from 2006-14 – once winning the sport’s equivalent of the MVP award. He returned to Australia for two more seasons after spending one season with the 49ers.
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