Drunken sex

They already have a son Jalima. Another reason why his girlfriend was so keen to see him proved not guilty I guess.

I have looked at the interesting link MicElf - thank you.

Niggling at the back of my mind was the fact that he said she said nothing, yet in that link it seems that she used the same words that she used with the two 'witnesses'.

And, of course, he was tried in Cardiff; there can not be many people who would be able to disregard the previous trial. There may even be people who support him, online and elesewhere, who know he plays for Wales.

Its all very depressing, isn't it. Offering the huge financial incentive to "witnesses", the unqualfied support from the girlfriend and her father etc. I don't want to go all Mary Whitehouse, I prefer my Pollyanna persona but honestly, what a miserable scenario in which to imagine our own adult children. My sympathies remain with the victim here. I do hope she gets some good therapy and is able to rebuild her life. Five times so far, she's had to change her identity, whilst he is seen as somehow the more aggrieved.
The only positive I can see is that the main stream media condemns Evans' behaviour.

AS the lone man in this thread, I have no intention of commenting on the court case, if for no other reason than that I have not followed it and am not aware of the evidence that has been presented. Please don't tell me as I don't believe a fraction of that in the media.

However I do think there is a lesson to be learn't (but I doubt it will) :-

Male or Female, never get so drunk that you are not in control of you circumstances. There will always be people only too willing to take advantage of someone who is drunk, either assault, rape, theft etc.

When I see news picture of young people in town centers when the clubs turn out it frightens me, they haven't a clue what might happen to them.

So many young people are drunk before they go out, simply because they can't afford club prices.

As said it is sad and depressing.

That is so true Wobblybits

Although the thought of 'date rape' drugs also terrified me when my DD went out

Date rape is a pre meditated crime, rather than an opportunist one, very difficult to protect oneself from date rape.

Teach your offspring to be very aware of everyone and everything that goes on around them. Never leave a drink alone and then go back to it, thumb over top of bottles, buy your own drinks, stay in groups/couples, come home with who you go out with, walk away from anything that looks like breaking out into a fight, always have money to get home, never give your phone to anyone. And it might be sexist but I always got my daughter's male friends to walk home any of her girlfriends to keep them safe and my son always walks girls home too. Or I got them a taxi to make sure they were safe. It is a minefield. I suppose it's about teaching your own about respecting someone and not getting off your trolley to not know what you are doing.

Excellent advice rubylady and as relevant for boys as well as girls.

Pressed the wrong button ! Meant to add this.

Agree with DD, excellent advice Ruby, it all comes down to respect for yourself and for others.

DB not DD

In the heat of the moment how often is the question asked or an answer given, things between normal couples just develop and happen. This is where consent can be a very grey area, but no is definitely no.

This is also a useful analogy

(Warning - contains strong language!)

www.buzzfeed.com/jobarrow/why-sexual-consent-is-just-like-offering-someone-a-cup-of-te

Thanks DD, took so long to read that my tea has gone cold .

Excellent analogy. But what if they say they prefer coffee, what does that mean ?.

It's definitely sensible to try to keep yourself safe but it is still a crime to take advantage of someone who is 'out of it' for whatever reason, just as it's not okay to steal a drunk man's wallet if he leaves it on the bar, or doesn't object when you filch it out of his pocket.

To put a slightly different viewpoint ,the fact that his partner and his common law FIL are standing by him must mean something. I agree the whole story is very sad and sordid and clearly shouldn't have happened in the context of a happy/ meaningful relationship. I am certainly not condoning his behaviour.

How could the partner have stood by him, I couldnt respect A man who had sex with a totlally drunk woman because it was available.

However the case is dressed up or what derogatory facts are dug up about victim that is what happened.

Jalima, I object to your comment - he was tried in Wales, you know the jury were all Welsh? Should English accused not be tried in England?

FarNorth, I don't think any of us consider taking advantage of someone is anything other than crime to some extent or the other. With rape we are at the worse end of the scale.

Are we in danger of saying no one should be responsible for their decisions?

Anniebach I did not mean to offend, but I am asking if the jury were able to put all preconceived prejudices aside either in favour or not in favour of the accused.
Difficult if any of the jury were fervent supporters of the Welsh team and of him rejoining it. I know they are supposed to disregard anything they may have heard about the previous case, about anything they know about the accused but they are only human after all.

Yes, the same with any England supporters on the jury if the accused was a member of the English team. There would be that niggle of doubt as to whether or not every member of the jury is totally impartial.
As with any case.

Can everyone rise above such thoughts and just rely on the evidence presented to them in that particular trial?

Latest from Ched Evans:
“She said she had a blackout but that didn’t mean, like it was said in court, that she didn’t consent.”
Utterly charming!

The woman is now emigrating because her life has been made such hell and she is scared because of the death threats she has received.

16/10/16:
Police and crime commissioner for Northumbria and former solicitor general, Vera Baird, criticised the court's decision.

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, she said: "The only difference between a clear conviction of Mr Evans in 2012 and the absolute refusal of him having any leave to appeal at that time, and his acquittal now, is that he has called some men to throw discredit on (the woman's) sexual reputation.

"That, I think, is pouring prejudice, which is exactly what used to happen before the law in 1999 stopped the admission of previous sexual history in order to show consent.

So the only difference between the two trials, according to Ms Baird, is the evidence of two witnesses who were paid £50,000.

Despite previous links surmising otherwise, there will always remain lingering doubts about this case in the minds of many.

Has anyone considered that the girl brought the action because he was a well-paid footballer?

I am so pleased that I am not a man hater.