The jury retired to consider its verdict at 3pm on Wednesday, after sitting through three days of evidence from the victim, police officers and a doctor.

The panel took less than an hour to find Edwards guilty of aggravated sexual assault, failing to believe his story that the pair's interaction had been consensual.

They instead supported the victim's version of events from the night - that Edwards had climbed onto her bed in the early hours of June 8, tied her up and burnt parts of her body with a cigarette lighter before raping her.

The woman told the court she met Edwards a few months before the incident and were only acquaintances, rejecting suggestions from Edwards' lawyer, David McCallum, that they had been "in a relationship".

The victim said Edwards turned up unannounced at her home on the evening of June 7 - which he'd done previously - and was still there when she went to bed later that night.

She woke later that night to discover Edwards cutting her leggings from her body.

He then ripped her pants off, bound her legs and burned her skin with the lighter, before eventually raping her.

Edwards' lawyer, David McCallum, attempted to convince the jury the sex between the pair had been consensual and that the binding of her legs had been a form of "light bondage" that was part of their liaison.

The jury rejected that assertion, instead finding that Edwards had had sex with the woman against her will.

Moments after the decision was handed down, Crown prosecutor Michael Clark tendered to Wollongong District Court a copy of Edwards' criminal history.

The 27-page record revealed he was a seasoned criminal who had spent time behind bars for multiple offences including assault, using offensive weapons, stalking and breaking into houses.

He had received a 12-month prison sentence for damaging property in 2011, and was on parole at the time he committed the rape, the court heard.

Edwards will remain behind bars ahead of his sentencing on May 2.