Unrepentant Ched Evans: Why I won’t say sorry to my accuser
THE MAN AT THE CENTRE OF THE STORM TALKS TO MIKE KEEGAN
FOOTBALLER Ched Evans spoke for the first time of his ‘nightmare’ last night – and declared it would be impossible for him to ‘apologise directly’ to his accuser.
In an exclusive interview, the former Wales international – cleared last week of raping a 19-year-old waitress – conceded that he had been ‘stupid’.
‘I have maintained my innocence from day one, so I can never apologise directly for what happened,’ he said.
Acknowledging that ‘it has not been easy’ for his accuser, he added: ‘I think it was a situation that got taken out of our hands from an early stage. She never said anybody raped her. She said she had a blackout but that didn’t mean, like it was said in court, that she didn’t consent.’
Inevitably, his defiance and lack of contrition will further inflame the controversy over the verdict. Evans, 27, also suggests, for instance, that if he had been given better advice about ‘alcohol and consent’ he might never have landed in trouble.
The judge’s decision to allow the female complainant’s sexual history to be considered by the jury caused particular dismay.
Evans and fellow footballer Clayton McDonald took turns to have sex with the waitress, who was so drunk she remembered nothing of it the next morning.
Outside, Evans’s half brother and a friend tried to film the tawdry encounter through a window.
Evans was found guilty of rape in 2012 but judges allowed a retrial.
Lawyers were allowed to call two of the waitress’s former lovers as witnesses in the new trial to describe her behaviour in bed and discredit her – which women’s groups say will deter others from reporting attacks in future.
On Friday, a jury at Cardiff Crown Court decided that the behaviour of the threesome did not constitute rape.
Yesterday, as anger over the verdict continued to rage:
Leading women’s rights campaigner Julie Bindel branded the verdict ‘a rapists’ charter’ that had set women back 30 years;
The vicious trolling of his accuser continued, with some people breaking the law to identify her on social media;
It emerged that despite maintaining a united front throughout the case, Evans and his partner split for a year.
In his interview with The Mail on Sunday, he said: ‘I can apologise for the effect it’s had. The social media stuff, I don’t condone whatsoever. I don’t agree with it.’
Mr Evans paid tribute to his fiancee, Natasha Massey, whom he cheated on on the night that led to him being accused of rape, saying: ‘She didn’t have to stay with me. She could have had a much easier life without me.’
The 27-year-old company director, who has a baby with Evans, supported him at each of his trials. And in interviews she always insisted that she never doubted his innocence.
But Evans reveals today that the couple separated for a year.
He said: ‘When I told her about the allegation, her initial reaction was that she knew I didn’t commit a crime but that I had been stupid and we split up initially for a year.’
He added: ‘I was 22, young and stupid and didn’t know what I had until I nearly lost it.
‘I don’t think I would have been able to get through it without her.
‘She’s been an absolute rock… We obviously love each other, we have a baby boy and we’re really happy.’
The verdict ended a five-year battle by Evans to clear his name. He spent two and a half years in prison over the 2011 incident, after being accused of attacking the woman at a Premier Inn in Rhuddlan, North Wales.
He told police that he had sex with her but claimed she had invited him to join in a 4am sex session with McDonald. The jury at his 2012 trial was persuaded by the Crown’s argument that the woman was so drunk that she was unable to consent, but the verdict was overturned in the Court of Appeal last year, and a retrial ordered, after fresh evidence emerged.
Two men who had sex with Evans’s accuser in the weeks before and after she made the rape allegation came forward after a campaign for justice funded by Ms Massey’s father, a millionaire businessman. A £50,000 reward was offered for information leading to his acquittal.
It is extremely rare for courts to hear evidence of the sexual history of alleged victims, to avoid them being smeared and effectively put on trial themselves.
‘I think that was a massive issue for the courts to deal with,’ Evans said. ‘That kind of evidence can only be used under exceptional circumstances. The fact is, these were exceptional circumstances in the eyes of the law. This evidence was allowed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission and by three High Court judges.’
On his second night in prison, Evans said a razor blade was slipped under his cell door. ‘I thought it was
‘I don’t condone the social media attacks’
to protect myself,’ he said. ‘It was only later I realised it was so I could cut my own wrists.’
He added: ‘It was living with some of the most disgusting people in the country and having to have the label – that was difficult.
‘They put me on the vulnerable prisoners’ wing due to the fact they said if I was to be anywhere else I might get stabbed because of the profile of the case and the crime that I was in for.
‘Every day was a nightmare. They wanted me to do a sex offenders course and told me I would get an easier life in prison – more money, more clothes, a PlayStation. It was designed for people to accept what they have done. From day one, I refused to do it. I never went near a course that could potentially be seen as an admission of anything.’
The Court of Appeal allowed the
use of evidence from two witnesses who had slept with the accuser, one of whom came forward voluntarily to police on the day of Evans’s conviction. That move has subsequently prompted scathing criticism from some who believe it may deter women who have been raped from coming forward.
‘When I went to prison, the people who are against me were happy the law was in order,’ Evans said. ‘But now, after going through the Court of Appeal and getting a not guilty verdict from a jury, they are not happy with it.’
Of his future marriage to Ms Massey, Evans said: ‘Time will tell. At the moment, we want to get back into our normal lives and settle things down.’
This summer Evans signed for League One side Chesterfield after a fierce public backlash scuppered a 2015 move to Oldham Athletic. He is expecting attacks from the terraces – despite the retrial.
‘I’ll get abuse from football fans but that’s what football fans do. There will be nothing hanging over me, nothing at the back of my mind. I don’t think I will ever get away from it, even after bring found innocent.
‘I now just want to let the football do the talking.’
At the time of his arrest, Evans made a statement to police in which he said he was a footballer and as such ‘could have any girl’. He described those comments as ‘cringeworthy’ and firmly believes he is now a more mature person.
As part of that growing up process, he wants to speak to young players who may hold a similar attitude about the dangers they face.
‘I have got an idea of what goes on in prison,’ he said. ‘A crime was not committed but nevertheless I was in a situation. I know 100 per cent that lads and girls get themselves in that position. Until something comes of it, you never think something will happen to you. I was young at the time and I was stupid and I wasn’t aware of the situations you could potentially find yourself in that would land you in trouble. I have never been taught about anything like that.
‘You get your gambling and drinking training but nothing else on top of that. In this day and age, people need educating on alcohol and consent.
‘I read somewhere you would have to get signed consent. That wouldn’t be realistic but someone needs to come up with something. The best thing is just to be educated. And when they are drunk to think twice about it. How would it look in a court of law?’
The legal team for Evans will now look at damages. Any claim for loss of earnings – Sheffield United released him following his original conviction – will be capped at £500,000. An application has already been put in for court costs which are likely to run into the hundreds of thousands and will be taxpayer-funded.
A case against Brabners, the Manchester-based firm of solicitors which represented him in his first trial, is also likely and damages could run into millions.
‘My main target is to start enjoying football again,’ Evans said. ‘Only time will tell how I progress in the future. I’m injured at the moment but staying injury-free is important.
‘I’ve got a lot of making up to do.’