Harrison sent ‘spit roast’ porn video to Olding

Judge ruled threesome clip was prejudicial Complainant made contact to online taxi service Jury referred back to Uber app before verdict

RUGBY player Rory Harrison sent a “spit roasting” video clip to Stuart Olding after the Paddy Jackson house party that sparked a nine-week rape trial.

The revelation comes after the judge in the Belfast court case lifted restrictions yesterday on some evidence that couldn’t be reported. It includes:

Details of a connection to the Uber app from the complainant’s mobile

Barrister Frank O’donoghue seeking to have the jury dismissed after a tweet by Alliance leader Naomi Long

Stuart Olding’s semen found on the crotch of the complainant’s clothing

The three questions from the jury on day one of deliberation

Yellow flowers being sent to the complainant during the trial, and

The attendance of Rory Best as a character witness for Jackson.

The jury did not hear details of Harrison’s “spit roasting” clip that had been downloaded from the internet and were not shown the short video.

During evidence, it had been claimed the defendants had not discussed events of the night in question when they met for brunch the following day.

The prosecution argued the clip was relevant to the case because they claimed it showed Harrison had in fact been aware a threesome had taken place the night before.

Prosecutor Toby Hedworth said: “The video, we submit, provides evidence of what they had been discussing otherwise it is a remarkable coincidence.”

But the defence argued if jurors were made aware of the clip showing “a consensual threesome involving unknown parties”, it would “indicate bad character” on Harrison’s part.

Judge Patricia Smyth said the issue of whether legal adult pornography is bad character “may attract a wide divergence of public opinion, depending on age bracket or gender”.

She ruled that although the clip could have some “probative value”, the clip would be more prejudicial.

The jury was advised a video clip had been sent from Harrison to Olding but no other details were revealed.

Other evidence that can now be reported includes details about an Uber taxi app left open on the complainant’s mobile in the early hours of the morning after her sexual contact with Jackson and Olding.

The court had heard the fourth accused, Blane Mcilroy, had sent Jackson a Whatsapp at 4.27am asking: “Is there a possibility of a threesome?” Sixteen minutes later, at 4.43am, contact was made to Uber via an app on the complainant’s phone.

It is the 16 minutes between Mcilroy’s threesome query and the contact with the Uber app from the complainant’s phone which legal sources believe may have been influential in the jurors’ decision to acquit.

The men’s defence barristers had questioned the complainant during her eight days in the witness box about the Uber app connection. They queried her evidence that she had fled Jackson’s house before running back inside and upstairs to retrieve her mobile from his bedroom. She initially said she had seen it on a chair in Jackson’s bedroom as she ran up the stairs but the court heard the chair had been behind the bedroom door and not visible from the stairs. The complainant agreed that may have been the case.

When asked about Uber, she said she could not remember calling it.

To order an Uber taxi, app users tap the “schedule” button on their mobile phone above the vehicle option slider. They then need to select a date and preferred 15-minute window for pick-up and enter the pick-up location and destination. The system requires the user to review the fare estimate and tap “schedule trip” to confirm.

No Uber taxi was confirmed and none turned up but examination of the complainant’s phone showed that contact had been made to the app.

Before their verdict was reached, the jury had three questions for Judge Smyth on day 41 of the trial.

They asked to hear Harrison’s police statement again and clarify a charge, and they wanted to hear again the evidence surrounding the Uber service.

Restrictions still prevent publication of the identity of a number of witnesses linked to the complainant.

Jackson, 26, and his Ireland and Ulster teammate Olding, 25, were unanimously acquitted last month of rape. Jackson was also found not guilty of sexual assault. Mcllroy, 26, and Harrison, 25, were unanimously acquitted of lesser charges.