Jarryd Hayne: Ex-Rugby League star guilty of sexual assault in Australia
Australian Rugby League player Jarryd Hayne has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in 2018.
The 33-year-old former athlete had denied charges he
attacked the 26-year-old woman in her house.
Hayne was one of the sport's most high-profile athletes and
his conviction comes amid an intensifying debate about rape in Australia.
A judge said Hayne would be sentenced at a later date, but
that a jail term was "inevitable".
Prosecutors alleged Hayne sexually assaulted the woman in
her bedroom, causing two injuries.
The former National Rugby League (NRL) player insisted all
sexual activity was consensual and that the injuries had been accidental.
The victim's mother was also at home at the time and Hayne
left afterwards in a taxi.
In the victim's evidence, which was replayed from a first
trial last year, she said she had refused to consent to sex because he already
had a taxi waiting outside.
That earlier trial ended in a hung jury. This time, it took
the jury three days to find Hayne guilty of two counts of sexual assault.
He was found not guilty of the more serious charge of
aggravated sexual assault while recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm.
Hayne has twice won the NRL's player of the year award and
has played 11 Tests for Australia, helping them to win the 2013 World Cup.
The verdict comes a week after tens of thousands of people
turned out to marches across Australia, protesting against the sexual abuse and
harassment of women in the country.
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