No further sanctions for two footballers labelled rapists
Civil case ruling exempts players from the sex offenders register
A COURT ruling that labelled two prominent footballers rapists has raised “serious questions” about the Scottish legal system after it emerged neither will be placed on the sex offenders register, a victims’ charity has warned.
Scotland international striker David Goodwillie and his ex-Dundee United team-mate David Robertson were ordered to pay Denise Clair £100,000 in damages after a judge in a civil court case found they raped her after a night out in Bathgate.
However, because neither faced a criminal prosecution, they are not subject to the same sanctions as those convicted of rape, and face no further penalties.
Ms Clair launched her civil case after the Crown Office decided against pursuing the two men in the criminal courts.
Rape Crisis Scotland co-ordinator Sandy Brindley called for a review of the law because she now expects more rape cases to be brought to the civil courts following Ms Clair’s successful action.
Ms Brindley said: “This is a landmark legal case, and it raises many questions that will have to be answered going forward.
“I predict we will see more people considering coming forward with civil court actions over rape cases as, historically, it has been difficult for these cases to come to a criminal court and even more difficult to secure a conviction.”
She added: “The judge has decided these men are rapists, but neither will be on the sex offenders register and that’s something that needs to be looked at before more cases are launched. It is a serious concern that these men are considered sex offenders but will not be labelled as such.”
Ms Clair, 30, who waived her right to anonymity, was praised as “incredibly brave” by judge Lord Armstrong, who dismissed Goodwillie’s and Anderson’s version of events.
She was raped in the early hours of January 2, 2011 at a property in Armadale, West Lothian, when she was heavily intoxicated.
She woke naked and confused in a house she had no memory of going to, and found her clothes stuffed down the side of the bed. She told the court she would never have consented to sex with two men on the same evening.
Scott Whyte, leading personal injury solicitor and head of law firm Watermans, said the ruling could have wide-reaching implications. He said: “Being found guilty in a civil case is not the same as being convicted in a criminal case.
“In Scotland, criminal law requires the procurator fiscal to establish guilt ‘beyond reasonable doubt.’ Conversely, civil law requires the pursuer to prove their case on the ‘balance of probabilities.’ This means it is more difficult to prove guilt in a criminal case. With regards to this specific case, the procurator fiscal decided against proceeding with criminal charges in July last year.
“Time will tell what sort of impact the verdict will have on both players’ careers.”
As with all civil cases, both men have 21 days from the judgment to lodge an appeal.
Yesterday, Goodwillie released a statement insisting he was innocent, adding: “I have spent the last six years and every penny I have fighting the allegations against me. “I am struggling to understand why the judge has discounted my evidence and all of the other evidence of those who have said what they saw or heard that morning.
“I am taking advice on what options are open to me about lodging an appeal.”