Ex-footballer Ched Evans served half his sentence for raping a 19-year-old in a hotel room and, upon his release, has maintained his innocence – but admitted that cheating on his girlfriend was 'unforgivable'. The Criminal Cases Review Commission, which looks out for miscarriages of justice, is fast-tracking his case, reports The Guardian.
'I most certainly didn’t rape anyone,' Evans told The M*irror On Sunday, '*It was something that should never have happened.'
'And it is something that I will regret for the rest of my life. I cheated on my girlfriend and had sex with this girl – but it was definitely consensual.'
He then went on to describe his version of that night's events: 'Clayton [McDonald - Evans's friend] decided to go back to his hotel and hailed a taxi. This woman appeared and asked him where he was going, and she said she was coming too. I went in another taxi with my brother and his mate. Clayton sent me a text saying he had got a girl. I told the driver to head for the hotel,' he said.
'When I went to the room, Clayton McDonald was having sex with her. He was having fun and she was too. I had probably had too much to drink but asked if I could join in and she said "yeah." Clayton was present.
'There was even a night porter listening outside the door, and the lads were trying to snoop from the half open window. We had sex and, when it was over, the girl turned over so I left. I did not rape her. She has never ever said I did. Next day her only complaint was she thought her drinks had been spiked and she couldn’t remember where she was.'
Thing is, the woman claims to have had absolutely no recollection of the events so the issue of consent has proved to be a grey area. The hotel’s night receptionist said she was 'extremely drunk' and 'had a blank expression'. She told the police in an interview the next day, reports The Mirror: 'My clothes were scattered on the floor. I just didn’t know how I got there.' The last thing she could remember is feeling 'tipsy but not out of control. I haven’t blacked out before'.
Clayton McDonald, who was cleared of the rape charge back in 2012, gave an interview shortly after Evans had been convicted: 'It was a year of hell for me. I had never been in trouble with the police before. I couldn’t understand why this woman was saying all these things. I felt numb,' Clayton said. 'Ched, too, is innocent and I can’t understand why he was found guilty. We were both there. The woman agreed to sex with both of us. I know he is an innocent man and will do anything to help him.'
But if she was absolutely off her face, then a slurred 'yeah join in' followed by waking up with no recollection of what had happened, just the knowledge that she'd had sex with two men isn't exactly consent, is it? Well, in the eyes of the law: it is. Thankfully, Judge Merfyn Hughes spotted this issue, telling Evans: 'The woman was 19 and extremely intoxicated. She was in no condition to form a capacity to consent to sexual intercourse and you must have realised that'. Which, of course, is the real issue here.
How many times do we have to say it: if she's clearly totally obliterated, don't have sex with her. Let's hope the Criminal Cases Review Commission can also see this.
You might also be interested in...
Judy Finnigan Clearly Needs Reminding That Rape Is Always Violent
Pro-Rape Subreddit Philosophy Of Rape Aims To Teach Men 'How To Rape Properly'
Follow Stevie on Twitter: @5tevieM
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.