Jarryd Hayne supporter launches impromptu PROTEST to free the former NRL star found guilty of rape
Jarryd Hayne supporter launches impromptu PROTEST to free former NRL star found guilty of rape – as he awaits fate in NSW Supreme Court
- Fan of Jarryd Hayne showed her support on a train in Sydney
- Clip from southwest Sydney was uploaded to TikTok on Thursday
- Comes as the former NRL star awaits fate in the NSW Supreme Court
- Hayne was found guilty of rape after a recent third trial
A passionate fan of Jarryd Hayne has expressed support for the fallen NRL star on a train in south west Sydney.
It comes as the 35-year-old arrived at the NSW High Court on Friday to learn whether he will be taken into custody.
The court previously heard there was ‘no doubt’ Hayne will be sentenced to prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in 2018 in Fletcher, on the outskirts of Newcastle.
In a clip uploaded to TikTok on Thursday, the impassioned supporter can be heard saying “free Jarryd Hayne” repeatedly as the train stopped at Minto – the same suburb where two-time Dally M Medal winner grew up.
And it didn’t take long for TikTok users to comment on the puzzling video.
Fallen NRL star Jarryd Hayne pictured arriving at the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Friday
Hayne, 35, was flanked by wife Amellia Bonnici awaiting a possible return to prison after recently pleading guilty to rape
“Must be a former cheerleader at Parramatta,” one joked while another posted “must love public transport in Sydney.”
Last Thursday, NSW District Court Judge Graham Turnbull SC allowed Hayne to remain free on bail to help sort his family out.
The Director of Public Prosecutions this week asked a higher court to reverse the ruling and jail the former Parramatta Eels’ favorite son.
Hayne will again face Supreme Court Justice Richard Button for a detention request.
If the prosecutors are successful, Hayne will be handcuffed in court, taken to jail, then taken by prison van to Silverwater or Parklea Maximum correctional center.
Hayne briefly put his arm around the shoulder of his lawyer, Margaret Cunneen SC, after walking into court on Friday.
Ms. Cunneen said that Hayne’s case was one of special or exceptional circumstances, whereupon His Honor believed that those circumstances should justify his continued bail.
If prosecutors are successful, Hayne will be handcuffed in court, taken to jail, then van driven to Silverwater or Parklea Maximum correctional center
Ms Cunneen said Hayne faced 25 days of full segregation and isolation if he went to prison before his sentencing date, which was May 8.
“He poses no danger to anyone,” she said, citing “the extraordinary media coverage and a toxic and terrifying social media campaign” portraying Hayne as “a sex offender of the most debased, the worst kind.”
Ms Cunneen said it would make a big difference if Ms Bonnici and the children could be housed in a rural center four hours outside Sydney ‘with the protection of her husband’ for the next three or four weeks.
Hayne was convicted for the second time by a jury earlier this month.
After his first conviction, he spent nine months in prison in Cooma, an hour’s drive from Canberra, before Hayne had his previous conviction overturned on appeal last year.
He is again expected to appeal his latest conviction to the Court of Appeal and continue to maintain his innocence.