Convicted sex offender and disgraced former NRL star Jarryd Hayne will fight to clear his name in a matter of weeks after he was convicted of raping a woman in her home on grand final night more than five years ago.
The two-time Dally M winner was found guilty of sexually assaulting the woman at her Newcastle home in the NSW Hunter Region following a high-profile trial in the NSW District Court last year.
He was sentenced to four years and nine months behind bars over the attack, but he will be eligible for parole in May 2025 due to time already served in custody.
Following his conviction by the jury last year, both Hayne and his barrister Margaret Cunneen SC indicated outside court that they would be appealing the verdict.
Moments after learning his fate and walking from the court hand-in-hand with wife Amellia Bonnici, Hayne held back tears as he told media he “keeps standing for the truth”.
When asked if he maintained his innocence, he said “100 per cent”.
“I never lied to police, I never deleted evidence, I never hid witnesses. Do the maths,” Hayne said at the time.
When asked if he thought he had a fair trial, he refused to comment.
“Did I lie? Did I lie? That’s factual evidence,” he said.
Ms Cunneen at the time argued the guilty verdict was “unreasonable and unjustifiable” and “not supported by evidence”.
The hearing date of April 3 was confirmed in the Court of Criminal Appeal on Thursday.
The hearing is set to last for three to four hours, with Hayne appealing the conviction based on evidence that arose during the trial.
He will dial into the courtroom via audiovisual link for the hearing.
The appeal marks Hayne’s second bid to quash his rape conviction in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
The former American football player has faced three trials over the 2018 rape, with the first ending with the jury being unable to reach a unanimous verdict in 2020.
He was found guilty and convicted of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent after a second trial in March 2021.
The former fullback was sentenced to five years and nine months prison, which he successfully appealed in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
The court ordered a retrial in 2023, which resulted in a jury returning a guilty verdict for two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
Hayne hopes his conviction will be quashed a second time when he returns to the state’s highest court later this year.