''R v Evans and McDonald'' was the prosecution of two footballers,
Ched Evans
Chedwyn Michael Evans (born 28 December 1988) is a Welsh footballer who plays as a striker for Championship club Preston North End.
Born in Rhyl, Evans was signed by Manchester City from Chester City's youth set up in 2002 and he subseque ...
and
Clayton McDonald
Clayton Rodney McDonald (born 26 December 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender.
He graduated out of the Manchester City youth academy in 2008, and spent the 2008–09 season on loan at League Two sides M ...
, who were accused of the
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
of a woman. On 20 April 2012, Evans was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment. McDonald was acquitted.
Several people were later fined after naming the woman on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and other
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
websites.
Evans served years in prison, being paroled on the Early Release Scheme. After this, his conviction was overturned on appeal in favour of a retrial. The appeal became a reported case by at least three sets of Law Reports as it confirmed only similar non-
hearsay
Hearsay evidence, in a legal forum, is testimony from an under-oath witness who is reciting an out-of-court statement, the content of which is being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. In most courts, hearsay evidence is inadmiss ...
testimony of historic sexual encounters by a third party with a complainant, which is so similar that similarity cannot be reasonably explained by coincidence, can be admitted by the presiding judge, heard or written (adduced) in evidence and then considered by a jury. Such witnesses came forward who testified, with supporting evidence, to that effect. At retrial the jury found Evans not guilty, as McDonald had been found at the original trial.
Background
On 30 May 2011,
Wales international and
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
player Ched Evans and McDonald were arrested on suspicion of the sexual assault of a woman in
Rhyl
Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd'').
To the we ...
,
Denbighshire
Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
, in connection with what was later proven and admitted to have been sexual intercourse at a
Premier Inn
Premier Inn is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 72,000 rooms and 800 hotels. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports competing with the like ...
in
Rhuddlan
Rhuddlan () is a town, community, and electoral ward in the county of Denbighshire, Wales, in the historic county of Flintshire. Its associated urban zone is mainly on the right bank of the Clwyd; it is directly south of seafront town Rhyl. ...
on the same day. On 26 July, the two were charged with
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
,
which they both denied.
Criminal proceedings
Preliminary hearings
On 8 August 2011, McDonald and Evans appeared before
Prestatyn
Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085,
History Prehistory
There is evidence that ...
Magistrates' Court
A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings.
Courts
* Magistrates' court (England and Wales)
* Magistrate's Cou ...
charged with rape.
[ The defendants were released on bail and did not comment on the matter, but McDonald told his team, ]Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...
's website that he "strongly refute the allegation. Evans also issued a statement on Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
's website stating that he "strenuously denie the charge". McDonald and Evans entered pleas of not guilty at the Crown Court at Caernarfon
Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...
on 14 October, and were remanded on bail.[
]
Trial
The trial took place at that court in April 2012. The woman, a 19-year-old waitress, said she had drunk two glasses of wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
, four double vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
s with lemonade, and a shot of sambuca
Sambuca () is an Italian anise-flavoured, usually colourless, liqueur. Its most common variety is often referred to as ''white sambuca'' to differentiate it from other varieties that are deep blue (''black sambuca'') or bright red (''red sambuc ...
.[ As a result, she told police she "felt tipsy but not out of control". However, she woke up naked and confused in a hotel bed with no memory of anything since leaving a dancing session with friends the previous night. She suspected that her memory loss was due to a spiked drink.] Samples taken the next day showed no alcohol, although the prosecution argued this was due to normal elimination over time. The samples did show traces of cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
and cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
, which she denied taking on the night of the incident. The prosecution argument was that the woman was too intoxicated to have consented.
The defence agreed that McDonald met the woman on the street and took her back to the hotel, where they were later joined by Evans. However, they claimed that both men had sex with the woman separately and with her consent. They argued she was not too drunk to consent, and suggested that her claim of memory loss may be a lie.
On 20 April 2012, the jury returned its verdicts. McDonald was acquitted. Evans was convicted of rape and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Judge Merfyn Hughes QC stated in his sentencing remarks that: "The complainant was 19 years of age and was extremely intoxicated. CCTV footage shows, in my view, the extent of her intoxication when she stumbled into your friend. As the jury have found, she was in no condition to have sexual intercourse. When you arrived at the hotel, you must have realised that."
Appeals
On 24 April 2012, it was announced that Evans was seeking the leave of the Court of Appeal to appeal against his conviction. On 20 August 2012, leave to appeal was refused by a single judge of the Court of Appeal, and on 6 November 2012, a three-judge panel agreed with the refusal.
By November 2013, Evans had recruited a new legal team headed by an ex-senior detective, Russ Whitfield, and higher courts specialist Criminal lawyer David Emanuel. In July 2014, he launched another appeal attempt via the Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is the statutory body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It was established by Section 8 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 and bega ...
.
Evans was released from prison, reaching the date for release on the early release scheme, without misbehaviour nor an adverse Probation Service report, on 17 October 2014.
Shortly afterwards, the Criminal Cases Review Commission announced that they were prioritising their review of his conviction. In October 2015, the CCRC, based on new material which was not considered by the jury at trial, decided to refer the case to the Court of Appeal. This obliged the court to reconsider the trial process and evidence admitted and excluded leading to the conviction.
The appeal evidence was heard by Lord Justice Hallett, Mr Justice Flaux, and Sir David Maddison on 22 and 23 March 2016,[Preview of Weekly Law Reports case]
016
HV-016 is a former military unit of Norway, that was a part of the Home Guard. It was established after 1985 to "stop terror- or sabotage actions that could weaken or paralyze Norway's ability to mobilize its military and its ability to resist".
...
4 WLR 169; The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting and the decision pronounced on 21 April.[ Evans's conviction was ]quash
A motion to quash is a request to a court or other tribunal to render a previous decision or proceeding null or invalid. The exact usage of motions to quash depend on the rules of the particular court or tribunal.
In some cases, motions to quash a ...
ed, and the court ordered a retrial
A new trial or retrial is a recurrence of a court case. A new trial may potentially be ordered for some or all of the matters at issue in the original trial. Depending upon the rules of the jurisdiction and the decision of the court that ordered ...
. To avoid prejudicing the retrial, it prohibited the publication of details of the appeal until the retrial was complete.
The Court of Criminal Appeal judgement stated:
According to ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'',
Retrial
Evans' retrial began on 4 October 2016 at Cardiff Crown Court. The main new evidence included was from other men who had had consensual sex with the woman, who testified that her sexual behaviour was similar to that which Evans described. Details of a complainant's sexual history are not usually admissible, but there is an exception, reiterated (upheld) on appeal in the Law Reports, for evidence which is "so similar o the defence's accountthat the similarity cannot reasonably be explained as a coincidence". The prosecution's allegations of the witnesses of perhaps receiving this account from Evans' defence campaign, and being motivated by the £50,000 reward offered for information were rejected by the jury.
On 14 October, following two hours of deliberation, the jury of seven women and five men returned a verdict of not guilty.
Naming of complainant on the internet
North Wales Police
North Wales Police ( cy, Heddlu Gogledd Cymru) is the territorial police force responsible for policing North Wales. Its headquarters are in Colwyn Bay. , the force has 1,510 police officers, 170 special constables, 182 police community suppor ...
investigated claims that the woman had been named and subjected to abuse on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
after the trial. Former Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...
, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, Holly Dustin, the director of End Violence Against Women, and Secretary of State for the Home Department
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...
warned of the risks posed by discussing court cases on social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
websites, and reiterated the need to protect the anonymity of complainants in cases concerning sexual offences. As of 6 October 2012, North Wales Police had arrested 23 people on suspicion of offences relating to the naming of the complainant. Police also investigated a mistake by Sky News which showed the name of the complainant on television.
Sheffield United academy and reserve team player Connor Brown was suspended by his club after allegedly making offensive comments about the woman on Twitter, although he did not give her name.
On 5 November 2012, nine people who had named the complainant on Twitter and Facebook, including a cousin of Evans, were each told to pay her £624 after admitting the offence at Prestatyn magistrates' court. A tenth person pleaded not guilty, but later changed her plea to guilty on 21 January 2013.
The complainant changed her identity as a result of having been named on social media; in October 2014, after Evans' release from prison, it was reported that her new identity had been illegally revealed on Twitter and blogs.
The complainant continued to be identified online during Evans' retrial in 2016.
References
{{reflist, 30em
External links
Twitter is not a law-free area, says Dominic Grieve
''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'', 11 May 2012.
Police speak to Sky News over Ched Evans rape tweet
''Press Gazette
''Press Gazette'', formerly known as ''UK Press Gazette'' (UKPG), is a British media trade magazine dedicated to journalism and the press. First published in 1965, it had a circulation of about 2,500, before becoming online-only in 2013. Publis ...
'', 18 May 2012.
2012 in Wales
2016 in Wales
Rape in Wales
Trials in Wales
2012 in case law
2016 in case law
2012 in British law
2016 in British law
Criminal trials that ended in acquittal
E
Overturned convictions in the United Kingdom
Sex crime trials