Jarryd Hayne, the Australian rugby-league player who spent 2015 on the 49ers, has been accused of rape in a civil suit filed in Santa Clara County on Tuesday.
According to attorney John Clune, the suit contends that Hayne engaged in nonconsensual sexual intercourse with a “Ms. V” in December 2015.
The District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and rejected it Oct. 25, 2016 for insufficient evidence.
Typically, sexual assaults that are reported weeks or months after they allegedly occurred can be difficult to prosecute. Any physical evidence, for instance, is usually limited or non-existent by the time the investigation begins.
The suit claims the victim was a virgin at the time and was afraid to come forward for several months, and eventually sought medical treatment for continued vaginal pain. According to the suit, the victim reported the rape to the police in May of 2016.
Prosecutors, according to the lawsuit, concluded there was not enough evidence to prove the crime of rape beyond a reasonable doubt. The lawsuit includes claims of sexual battery, gender violence, infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
Hayne left a high-profile career in Australia to play football for the first time with the 49ers, and he became a summer sensation in making their 2015 roster as a punt returner and running back. He appeared in their first six games, got released on Halloween, returned for their final two games and ultimately announced his retirement from the NFL on May 15, 2016.
Hayne then tried out with the Fiji Rugby Sevens team in hopes of participating in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He did not make that team, and he returned to his native Australia and resumed his rugby-league career, spending the past two years in Queensland before recently re-signing with his native Sydney club.
In a press release issued by the 49ers upon retiring, Hayne said, “I am retiring from the NFL because he Fiji Rugby Sevens team reached out to me about the opportunity to join the team for the upcoming Olympics, and I simply could no pass that chance up. The Olympics has been something I have admired since I was a little boy, and it is an opportunity I feel very similar to me joining the NFL.”
Hayne competed last month for Fiji in the Rugby League World Cup and is back in Sydney with his original rugby-league team, Parramatta.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/12/19/rugby-player-turned-49er-accused-of-rape-in-civil-suit/
