Retrial clears ex-Sheffield United star Ched Evans of hotel rape

FORMER Sheffield United footballer Ched Evans has been cleared of raping a teenager in a hotel in north Wales following a two week retrial at Cardiff Crown Court.
Ched Evans at Cardiff Crown Court with partner Natasha MasseyChed Evans at Cardiff Crown Court with partner Natasha Massey
Ched Evans at Cardiff Crown Court with partner Natasha Massey

The Wales international and Chesterfield striker, who fought a five year battle to clear his name, wept and hugged his partner Natasha Massey following the verdict at Cardiff Crown Court.

Evans, 27, had admitted to having sex with the teenager in a hotel in Rhyl, north Wales, and cheating on his girlfriend in the process, but always insisted it had been consensual.

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He had maintained his innocence from the very outset - saying the woman had invited him to “join in” a 4am romp with a fellow footballer.

Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.
Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.

Defence counsel Judy Khan QC said Evans answered every single question during his police interviews and detectives would never have known about the sex session had it not been for the soccer star’s honesty.

Mr Evans bowed his head as the jury foreman returned the verdict of not guilty.

Claps could be heard from the public gallery following the acquittal.

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Mrs Justice Nicola Davies told Mr Evans: “Mr Evans you are discharged and you can leave the dock.”

Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.
Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.

It took the jury three hours to reach their not guilty verdict.

Today’s dramatic conclusion comes at the end of a five-year fight by Evans to clear his name. This is how events in the case unfolded:

• May 30 2011 - Evans and his friend, footballer Clayton McDonald, have sex with a woman at a Premier Inn, near Rhyl, North Wales.

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• May 31 - Evans, then a Sheffield United striker, and McDonald, who was playing for Port Vale, are both arrested. They are later charged.

Footballer Ched Evans outside Cardiff Crown CourtFootballer Ched Evans outside Cardiff Crown Court
Footballer Ched Evans outside Cardiff Crown Court

• April 20 2012 - Evans is convicted of raping a 19-year-old woman and sentenced to five years in prison following a trial at Caernarfon Crown Court. Co-accused McDonald is found not guilty.

• May 30 - Evans, who has been capped 13 times by Wales, is released by Sheffield United at the end of the football season.

• November 6 - The Court of Appeal refuses him leave to appeal his conviction or reduce the length of his sentence.

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• October 17 2014 - Evans is released from prison after serving half of his sentence.

Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.
Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.

• November 11 - Sheffield United faces a public backlash after saying it would let him train with them, an offer it later withdrew. TV presenter and club patron Charlie Webster quits and Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill demands her name be taken off the Bramall Lane stand in protest.

• January 8 2015 - Oldham Athletic pulls out of a deal to sign Evans following another public backlash.

• October 5 - Evans’s case is referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Case Review Commission on the basis of new information after a 10-month investigation.

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• March 22 2016 - The appeal hearing is held at the High Court in London.

• April 21 - Evans wins appeal against conviction and is granted unconditional bail. The footballer faces a re-trial at Cardiff Crown Court before Mrs Justice Nicola Davies.

• May 27 - Evans pleads not guilty to a single charge of rape.

Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.
Room 14 at the Premier Inn, near Rhyl, where footballer Ched Evans cheated on partner Natasha Massey with a teenager in 2011.

• June 20 - The footballer signs a one year contract with League One side Chesterfield FC.

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• July 23 - He scores in his first game in four years during a 3-0 pre-season friendly win for his new club against Ilkeston.

• October 4 - Evans’s rape retrial begins at Cardiff Crown Court.

• October 14 - The footballer is cleared after a two-week retrial. The jury deliberated for three hours.