Ched Evans found not guilty of rape
Jury clears Evans over new evidence after Appeal Court throws out first verdict
Footballer Ched Evans leaves Cardiff Crown Court with his partner, Natasha Massey, yesterday after being found not guilty of rape. The former Wales striker was jailed in 2012 for raping a 19-year-old woman, but had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal in April, which ordered a retrial of the case.
Footballer Ched Evans has said he is “overwhelmed with relief ” after being acquitted of rape following a retrial.
The Chesterfield striker, 27, was originally convicted of raping a 19-year-old woman in a Premier Inn near Rhyl, North Wales, in May 2011.
He served half of a five-year prison sentence before being released but there was a public outcry when he attempted to return to professional football.
Mr Evans joined English League One club Chesterfield FC after the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction and ordered a retrial earlier this year.
A jury of seven women and five men found Mr Evans not guilty following three hours of deliberations after the eightday trial at Cardiff Crown Court.
Mr Evans wept and hugged his fiancee, Natasha Massey, who has stood by him throughout the case, as he left the dock in court room five.
The couple stood together with supporters as Mr Evans’s solicitor Shaun Draycott read a statement outside court.
“In the early hours of 30 May, 2011 an incident occurred in North Wales that was to change my life and the lives of others forever.
“I would like to thank my legal team, Judy Khan QC and David Emanuel of Garden Court Chambers London and Shaun Draycott of Draycott Browne Solicitors for their tireless efforts upon my behalf.
“Thanks go too to my friends and family; most notably my fiancee Natasha who chose, perhaps incredibly, to support me in my darkest hour.
“Whilst my innocence has now been established, I wish to make it clear that I wholeheartedly apologise to anyone who might have been affected by the events of the night in question.”
During the trial, jurors heard new evidence from two men who had sex with the complainant around May 2011.
In March this year, the striker’s lawyers told a new hearing before the Court of Appeal that the accounts had not been available at his trial and that undermined the safety of his conviction.
Bothofthemengaveaccount of the woman’s sexual preferences that were similar to the description Mr Evans gave, supporting his assertion that she was consenting.
Mr Evans’s legal team sought permission to question the complainant. Appeal judges Lady Justice Hallett, Mr Justice Flaux and Sir David Maddison allowed the appeal but ordered a retrial.