Hayne trial to hear woman’s evidence of alleged assault

The jury in Jarryd Hayne’s trial will hear evidence from the woman who says the former NRL star sexually assaulted her in her bedroom.

Hayne, 35, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of sexual intercourse without consent.

Defence barrister Margaret Cunneen SC told the jury on the first day of Hayne’s NSW District Court trial that none of the sex acts he performed on the woman on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final were non-consensual.

“It ended abruptly, and disappointingly perhaps, for all concerned … but nothing in that room is done against (her) will,” she said on Monday.

Hayne has denied the allegations since being charged in November 2018.

The court will be closed on Tuesday morning as the jury hears evidence from the woman he is accused of assaulting.

Crown prosecutor John Sfinas told the jury on Monday the alleged assault involved oral and digital sex for about 30 seconds, ending when the woman’s genitals began bleeding.

After feeling “quite awkward” about music Hayne played on a laptop after arriving at the home she shared with her mother in suburban Newcastle, a “defining moment” came when the woman heard the honk of a taxi waiting outside to take Hayne to Sydney.

While the possibility of sex had been open, it then “evaporated” for the woman, Mr Sfinas said.

Ms Cunneen contended Hayne had told her he was returning to Sydney and would stop by her house “on the way”.

She said the woman remained open to Hayne kissing, fondling and “pleasuring” her.

“There was no sex in the way both the complainant and Mr Hayne thought of the term ‘having sex’,” Ms Cunneen said.

Hayne responded “politely” after the woman started messaging him on Instagram 13 days before the alleged incident, she said.

The messages which the jury would see during the trial became more sexual in nature after she told Hayne she had imagined having sex with him, Ms Cunneen said.

The trial before Judge Graham Turnbull continues.