Global controversy: former NFL player was released a year after being convicted of sexual abuse for an unusual reason

The former rugby player is accused of raping a woman in an incident that occurred in 2018 in the city of Newcastle, about 160 kilometers north of Sydney, hayne He has faced a long court battle, which put him behind bars last year.

In the first judicial trial held at the end of 2020, the jury could not agree, while in 2021 he was found guilty of rape and sentenced to five years and nine months in prison, which he then appealed and won the following year, although in April 2023, he was again found guilty and sentenced to prison.

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Haynes appealed this ruling and this Wednesday, the plenary session of the Court of Criminal Appeal of the Australian state of New south Wales, annulled the conviction, after a 2-1 vote, considering that several judicial procedural errors were made in the judicial battle.

According to the ruling published today on the judicial portal, a trial judge made a procedural “error” during a series of trials against Hayne, since “the complainant was not allowed to give evidence in one of the trials,” and deprived the jury of evidence relating to the honesty of the complainant

The Court’s decision also determined that Hayne’s case “is not in the interest of justice” for a fourth trial to be held against the former Parramatta Eel club player, although it admitted that this decision is in the hands of the New South Wales Prosecutor’s Office.

Haynes, who assured in the process that the sexual relationship with the complainant was consensual, has been behind bars since last year and could be released on parole in the next few hours if the Court of Appeals grants it to him.