Football fans chant support for cleared rape case Ched Evans
FOOTBALL fans chanted the name of Ched Evans yesterday as a QC claimed his controversial rape trial defence set sexual assault cases back 30 years.
Football fans chanted the name of Ched Evans after his rape trial came to an end
Supporters of both his current club Chesterfield and former club Sheffield United backed the striker the day after he was cleared of raping a teenage waitress following a re-trial.
Former solicitor general Vera Baird, now police and crime commissioner for Northumbria, said that the sexual history of his female complainant should never have been considered by the jury.
His fiancée, Natasha Massey stood by and supported Evans in his 'darkest hour'.
Evans was acquitted following a five-year battle to clear his name
We’ve gone back, I’m afraid, probably about 30 years
Evans, 27, a former Welsh international, was acquitted following a five-year battle to clear his name during which he served half of a five-year jail term after an initial conviction.
In a rare move, the appeal panel at Cardiff Crown Court allowed evidence from two men who had sex with the girl about the time of the rape allegation.
Ched Evans found not guilty in rape retrial
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today show, Ms Baird said: “That, I think, is pouring prejudice, which is exactly what used to happen before the law in 1999 stopped the admission of previous sexual history to show consent.
“We’ve gone back, I’m afraid, probably about 30 years.”
Women Against Rape claimed the trial was a “throwback to the last century”.