Ched Evans to appeal against rape conviction

In a statement issued through the club’s website, law firm Brabners Chaffe Street said last night an appeal would be launched although it provided no details on what grounds might be pursued.

United declined to comment on Evans’s appeal or whether he remains a contracted player – receiving wages understood to be in the region of £20,000 a week – despite beginning a five-year sentence for raping a young woman in a hotel room.

He admitted having had sex with her, but the woman told the court she had no memory of the incident and woke up alone in the room at the Premier Inn near Rhyl, not knowing how she had even got there. The jury accepted arguments from prosecutors that she had been too drunk to consent to sexual intercourse.

The statement from the law firm said: “Mr Evans firmly maintains his innocence in this matter and as such, we confirm that Mr Evans will be appealing the decision.

“No further comment will be made while the appeal process is ongoing.”

The club’s website added: “Sheffield United has at all times been mindful of the very serious nature of the sensitive issues involved in this legal process, and in the circumstances will refrain from making further comment at this time.”

The furore surrounding the conviction on Friday led to a large volume of messages posted on social media sites, including the illegal naming and abuse of the rape victim.

United yesterday said defender Connor Brown has been suspended for comments he made on Twitter. The reserve-team player responded to the outcome of the case by tweeting various comments, including derogatory remarks about the rape victim and his support for his team-mate.

A complaint about the 19-year-old’s tweets was made to North Wales Police by a leading rape charity.

In a statement, the club said: “Sheffield United Football Club have suspended reserve-team player Connor Brown with immediate effect pending an internal investigation into comments apparently posted on his personal Twitter account.

“There will be no further comment from the club during the process of the investigation which it hopes to conclude swiftly.”

Meanwhile North Wales Police has confirmed arrests will be made as part of its investigation following comments made on social media sites identifying the victim in the case.

The force said it was “reminding people that the law gives rape victims and other victims of serious sexual offences, anonymity for life and that if anyone publishes a victim’s identity they will be subject to investigation and possible criminal proceedings”.

Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Pritchard said: “North Wales Police will seek to ensure that the legal anonymity of victims in rape cases under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, is protected and those who commit offences in this regard will be brought before the criminal justice system.

“We wish to reassure victims of serious sexual offences of our continuing determination to support them.”

It is a criminal offence punishable on summary conviction by a £5,000 fine to identify the victim of a sexual offence in a publication or programme.

Wales international Evans, 23, was jailed at Caernarfon Crown Court on Friday after being found guilty of raping the woman at a hotel in North Wales last May, as two of his friends watched and tried to film it on a mobile phone.

Port Vale defender Clayton McDonald, 23, who brought the woman to the hotel and also admitted having sex with her, was found not guilty of the same charge.

Evans hit 35 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions for Sheffield United this season and was named in the League One Team of the Year on Monday.