Judge in Jarryd Hayne’s trial was sent a threatening letter before he sentenced NRL star

Police are investigating serious threats against the judge who presided over Jarryd Hayne’s rape trial.

Judge Graham Turnbull reported a letter sent to him in the days before he sentenced the NRL star, the Daily telegram reported.

The letter sparked widespread security concerns, with a source telling the publication where the judge lives.

Judge Turnbull, a NSW District Court judge, declined to comment on the case.

NSW Police did not respond to a request for comment.

A NSW police spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: ‘The safety of all users of the court is a top priority for the Department of Communities and Justice’.

“As this matter is under investigation by NSW Police, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

Hayne has been sentenced to at least three years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman five years ago.

The disgraced footballer was found guilty in April of two counts of sexual intercourse against the woman, then aged 26, at her home in Newcastle on the night of the NRL grand final in September 2018.

The father-of-three, who appeared in his prison green via video link, shouted ‘f***ing three years bro!’ after the verdict was handed down in Sydney’s Downing Center Court on Friday.

It was the third time Hayne, 35, had been tried for the same incident and the second time he had been found guilty.

He had previously served nine months in prison before his conviction was overturned on appeal in February 2022.

Judge Graham Turnbull SC took almost two hours on Friday to pronounce the sentence.

Hayne received a total sentence of four years and nine months, but it was retroactive to July 2, 2022 to account for the previous nine months Hayne had spent in custody.

He was given a three-year non-parole period. Taking into account the time already plotted, he could be released on May 6, 2025.

Hayne replied “say no more” after Judge Turnbull finished his remarks, before exclaiming his total sentence and being taken off screen.

Before the proceedings began, Hayne fumbled and mumbled “way away” and “oh my god” as he waited for Judge Turnbull to begin.

Hayne’s wife Amellia Bonnici did not appear in court, but followed the proceedings online.

An apparent supporter of Hayne logged into the online stream with the username “love you brovy.”

Hayne is now correctly classified as an inmate in need of protection and is transferred to a holding prison where he will be around other high profile inmates.

In his comments on the sentencing, Judge Turnbull noted that the athlete fell out of favor after debuting in the NRL and representing NSW and Australia at just 18 years old.

“He will not be remembered for his sporting achievements,” he said.

Hayne has maintained his innocence at the trials, claiming the sexual encounter was completely consensual.

But the jury accepted the woman’s version of events that she repeatedly said “no” and “stop,” reaching a guilty verdict after 10 p.m. on April 4.

The jury was told the woman refused to consent to sex because Parramatta’s ex-fullback had a taxi waiting outside her home.

The court heard that Hayne had oral and digital sex with the woman without her consent for about 30 seconds until she started bleeding.

‘The perpetrator was 104 kilograms and the complainant was 48 kilograms. He overpowered her in an inherently unequal struggle and an indulgence of physical strength to achieve some sexual satisfaction,” Judge Turnbull said.

“The offended behavior didn’t stop until the bleeding started. He didn’t give in voluntarily.’

Judge Turnbull accepted, while both Hayne and the woman had expected a sexual encounter to have been possible, it was the victim’s “absolute right” to give her consent or not.

“The crime took place in her home where she was allowed to feel safe,” he said.

Judge Turnbull also noted that Hayne had shown no remorse for his offense as a result of maintaining his innocence.

He said he thought the 35-year-old would not reoffend and said he was a “very different man” than he was at the time of the attack.

“He is well advanced in his rehabilitation which will now be interrupted. People (Hayne’s family) will suffer if he is taken from them,” he said.

The emotional effect on the victim was clearly “highly significant,” Judge Turnbull said.

She said, ‘I’m damaged. I’ve been through hell.” “She still hasn’t been able to feel a sense of peace in her life, but she does feel she’s beginning to recover mentally,” he said.

A victim statement was read to the court on behalf of the victim during an earlier criminal hearing by Crown Prosecutor John Sfinas.

The woman said her life has been a “never-ending nightmare” since September 30, 2018.

“I still don’t know how to put this into words,” the statement read.

“From September 30, 2018, my life launched into what feels like a never-ending nightmare.”

The woman said she hoped to move on after the second trial, but said she hadn’t had a chance to “move on or feel peace,” reliving the trauma “over and over.”

‘In September it will be five years since this happened. I was a 26-year-old with the world at her feet, now I’m almost 31 and haven’t been able to finish university,” the woman said.

“I’m stronger, I’m wiser, but I’m damaged and I’ll never be the same person again.”