A smiling Jarryd Hayne has claimed vindication while thanking "the boys on the inside" after his rape charges were officially dropped, ending a near-six-year legal battle that has included two guilty verdicts.
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Prosecutors on Friday told a court they would no longer pursue sexual assault charges against the former NRL star, ending the possibility that he would face a fourth trial over the allegations.
The 36-year-old had convictions on two rape charges quashed by an appeals court earlier in June.
But Hayne still faces civil proceedings brought by the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her, with a hearing date set in late July.
On Friday, the ex-star fullback walked free from Sydney's Downing Centre court without a criminal case hanging over his head for the first time since 2018.
"I stayed true to myself the whole time, this whole process," a visibly relieved Hayne told reporters outside court.
"Today's a vindication for myself, my family and my loved ones.
"I thank God for keeping me sane through this season."
Hayne said the process had been difficult not just for himself, but also his wife, who appeared in court alongside him.
"What she had to go through, it's been tough," Hayne said.
He described the process, going from rugby league royalty to a convicted rapist, as a "rollercoaster".
"I just want to say thank you to all those that supported me from day one and stood by me, stood next to me," he said.
"The boys on the inside that stood by me, mates on the outside and everyone that stood shoulder to shoulder with me."
It was alleged Hayne raped a woman with his hands and mouth at her Newcastle home on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final.
A jury found him guilty in April 2023 and he was sentenced to a maximum of four years and nine months in prison.
But the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal quashed Hayne's convictions on the basis that a judge erred in not allowing the complainant to be further cross-examined during the trial.
He was released on bail after the court decision having spent more than a year behind bars.
Before Friday's hearing, the Office of The Director of Public Prosecutions said the decision not to proceed to a fourth trial was made in accordance with prosecution guidelines, without disclosing specific reasons for the decision.
"The record will reflect that the Crown has discontinued any and all proceedings against Mr Hayne," Judge Craig Everson told the court on Friday.
Three separate criminal trials were told the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, changed her mind about having sex with Hayne after realising he had a taxi waiting outside her house.
The ex-NRL player's barrister, Tim Game SC, told an appeal hearing in April that the woman deleted messages between herself and Hayne that demonstrated she had initially shown a sexual interest in him.
His defence team also argued the woman should have been cross-examined on why she allegedly told police, "If those message get out, I'm f***ed and he will get off."
Judge Graham Turnbull, who oversaw Hayne's third trial, refused requests for the woman to be cross-examined on the statement, saying it carried "almost infinitesimal weight".
Hayne's quashed convictions followed a hung jury in his first trial in 2020 and a previous appeal overturning the 2021 guilty verdict from his second trial.
The 36-year-old played 11 games for Australia and 23 matches in the NSW State of Origin side in a career that also included a stint with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Australian Associated Press
