A woman who accused former NRL star Jarryd Hayne of assault committed “certain acts” consistent with showing she did not consent during a cursory encounter at her home, a jury has been told.
Crown Prosecutor John Sfinas addressed the jury in his closing arguments on Thursday afternoon as the two-week NSW District Court trial enters its final phase.
The 35-year-old Dally M winner pleaded not guilty to two counts of unauthorized sexual assault, with the jury hearing more than eight days’ worth of evidence.
Mr Hayne denies sexually assaulting the woman at her home on the outskirts of Newcastle in September 2018, on the night of the NRL grand final, claiming they engaged in consensual sex acts.
The former footy star is accused of ripping off the woman’s pants before allegedly performing oral and digital sex acts on her without her consent, resulting in cuts and significant bleeding.
The woman who accused Hayne (pictured out of court) of assault showed she was not in agreement with her words and actions, the Crown prosecutor told the court
Evidence closed in the trial of the former NSW and Parramatta fullback, with the closing of Crown Prosecutor submissions beginning Thursday afternoon.
The woman and the accuser have argued that although she had sent him sexually suggestive messages via social media, the first time they met at her home in Fletcher – which she shared with her mother – she did not consent to sexual intercourse.
She said she refused to agree because he had a taxi waiting in her front yard, right outside her bedroom window, that he paid $550 to take him from a dollar party to Sydney, where he was booked to attend a midnight event.
In his closing speech to the jury, Mr Sfinas said that demonstrating a lack of consent is broken down into words and deeds.
“The Crown says that the complainant in this case has spoken words and has done deeds,” he told the jury.
The jury heard the woman hold up her trousers when Mr Hayne tried to take them off, saying ‘no’ and ‘stop’ and resisting Mr Hayne.
She had also texted her friend in the hours following the alleged incident, saying, “I feel like I let it happen to myself by not yelling at him.”
“You might think that trying to keep her pants up is an act, walking away from someone, getting pushed and trying to push against them,” Mr Sfinas said.
“They are actions, so while she says here, ‘I feel like I let it happen to myself,’ de Kroon says she did certain actions that are consistent with showing resistance.”
The former Parramatta star (pictured outside court with wife Amellia Bonnici) has pleaded not guilty to two counts of unauthorized sexual assault
Mr Sfinas told the court that the woman had always been ‘outspoken’ about her intentions towards Mr Hayne.
At the start of his speech, Mr Sfinas told the jury that Ms Cunneen had asked them to look at the alleged victim’s evidence ‘through a prism that she embellished and lied to the police’.
He told the court, “It’s the crown statement that she didn’t lie. She didn’t exaggerate and she didn’t embellish.’
Mr Sfinas asked the jury to accept the woman’s evidence and said she was candid about her original intentions when she texted Mr Hayne in the weeks leading up to the alleged incident.
“She didn’t shrink, she didn’t minimize, she didn’t try to make herself look better,” he said.
“Yes, she was sexually interested and sexually attracted … she wasn’t that desperate to meet him.”
The jury was told the woman was ‘open’ to the possibility of having sex with Mr Hayne, but when she realized there was a taxi waiting for the former NRL star outside, things lessened.
Mr Sfinas said this was the ‘defining moment’ for the woman as she felt she was just a ‘distraction’.
“She realizes he didn’t intend to stay too long as a taxi was waiting for him to take him upstairs,” he said.
The court heard that the woman initially did not report the incident to the police because she was afraid of what could happen to her.
In a message to a friend, the court heard her write, “I’m too scared to report it, he’d have the money to ruin me and the last thing I need is my life in the public eye.”
The woman who accused Hayne felt ‘absolute rubbish’ when the footy star’s taxi driver knocked on the door of her home on the night of the alleged assault, the court heard
The Crown said it was conclusive evidence because at the time the alleged incident took place, the woman said she was not sure what had happened.
Mr Sfinas said the woman was unsure if she had been digitally penetrated.
“It was at a time when she didn’t want to go to the police, it signifies her authenticity significantly,” he said.
“You might think that these actions don’t befit someone who is willing to lie, embellish, exaggerate or deceive.”
The court heard that the taxi was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Mr Sfinas read to the court some of the woman’s pre-recorded evidence during the trial.
When asked how she felt after the taxi driver knocked on the door, the woman said “like absolute crap.”
“I felt like it was obvious what he wanted, I felt sad and stupid for flirting with him in the beginning,” she said.
“There was no way I was going to touch him… I was angry, I was hurt, I was sad, I felt like I thought this could turn into something one day, so when I trained he just wanted to ( sex) I felt worthless.’
Closing addresses will continue before Judge Graham Turnbull on Friday.