FORMER NRL star Jarryd Hayne had attended a two-day bucks party in Newcastle for a fellow rugby league player on the weekend he is alleged to have raped a woman at Fletcher, Newcastle District Court has heard.
Mr Hayne, 32, was arraigned on Monday morning and pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent and inflict actual bodily harm.
Crown prosecutor Brian Costello told the jury panel that the charges stem from an alleged sexual assault at a home at Fletcher, a western suburb of Newcastle, on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final.
Mr Costello said Mr Hayne had been in Newcastle attending a bucks party for Kevin Naiqama over the weekend before he went to the alleged victim's house on the evening of September 30.
Mr Costello said the prosecution would allege the sexual acts were done without consent and "during those acts an injury was recklessly inflicted upon [the alleged victim]."
The trial, before Judge Peter Whitford, SC, is expected to run for two weeks.
More to come.
