Ched Evans cleared of rape but is GUILTY of being a slimeball who treats women like dirt
Footie star's lawyers 'drove a coach and horses' through protection for victims while campaigners say he showed 'repugnant disrespect' to women
FOOTBALLER Ched Evans was cleared of rape yesterday — but was branded a slimeball who treated his alleged victim like dirt.
The former Sheffield United and Wales striker, 27, wept and hugged fiancee Natasha Massey as he was found not guilty following a two-week retrial.
Experts said Evans, who served 2½ years in jail after being convicted in 2012, could be in line for a £500,000 payout if he takes action against the authorities for a miscarriage of justice. But angry campaigners hit out last night.
One said: “We must accept the verdict of the jury that Ched Evans is not a rapist. But it’s clear from the evidence heard in two trials that he is certainly guilty of being a slimeball who treats women like dirt.”
Feminist activist Jean Hatchet said Evans showed “repugnant disrespect” by not speaking to the alleged victim. She said: “Many men feel women’s bodies are just so much available meat — to grab when you like. This case has done nothing to dispel that entitled belief.”
Jurors at Cardiff crown court heard how Evans joined a pal to have threesome sex with the very drunk woman in a budget hotel before walking out without a word.
But he was cleared of rape after the panel decided there was reasonable doubt over whether she consented to sex. Last night his alleged victim was said to be “in pieces”.
SICK ATTACKS ON JESS
SICK trolls bombarded Olympic hero Jessica Ennis-Hill with vile abuse last night after Ched Evans’s acquittal.
Twitter users, including Sheffield United fans, posted hundreds of messages branding the athlete a “stupid c***” and a “slimy piece of s***”.
The wave of vitriol comes two years after Jessica, 30, spoke out against Evans.
She attacked Sheffield’s decision, later withdrawn, to let him train again.
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In an unusual move, High Court judges had allowed Evans to appeal using evidence of the alleged victim’s sexual encounters with other men.
The law limits what evidence can be heard on a victim’s sexual behaviour. But campaigners said Evans’ “clever lawyers” drove “a coach and horses through the protection”.
Lisa Longstaff of Women Against Rape said: “The whole way the case has been handled trivialises rape and puts women off reporting.
“They know if they come forward they are going to be trashed.”
