R v Evans and McDonald

Common card · No. 348236

R v Evans and McDonald was the prosecution of two footballers, Ched Evans and Clayton McDonald, who were accused of the rape of a woman. On 20 April 2012, Evans was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment. McDonald was acquitted. Several people were later fined after naming the woman on Twitter and other social media websites. Evans served 2+1⁄2 years in prison, being paroled on the Early Release Scheme. After this, his conviction was overturned on appeal in favour of a retrial. The appeal became a reported case by at least three sets of Law Reports as it confirmed only similar non-hearsay testimony of historic sexual encounters by a third party with a complainant, which is so similar that similarity cannot be reasonably explained by coincidence, can be admitted by the presiding judge, heard or written (adduced) in evidence and then considered by a jury. Such witnesses came forward who testified, with supporting evidence, to that effect. At retrial the jury found Evans not guilty...

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