Ched Evans website referred to CPS over alleged identification of rape victim
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Version 0 of 1. The attorney general has asked prosecutors to consider criminal charges against the individuals behind the Ched Evans website for allegedly identifying the woman he raped. In CCTV footage posted on the website, which was set up by Evans’s family and friends in 2012 to protest his innocence, the victim is seen entering the hotel in Rhyl where she was later attacked. Clearly visible in the footage, with her face obscured, she is seen entering and leaving the hotel on the night of the attack. The footage, which was part of the material used in the criminal case against Evans, is posted under the headline: “Too Drunk to consent, too drunk to remember”. The site asks viewers to “judge for yourself” whether she looked drunk in the footage. The victim’s father, who has spoken of how her life has been ruined after being identified on social media, made a complaint to the attorney general over the footage. On Friday the attorney general’s office released a statement saying the matter would be pursued. “The attorney general, Jeremy Wright QC MP, has asked the Crown Prosecution Service [CPS] to consider whether any criminal offences may have been committed in regards to identifying the victim in the Ched Evans case,” the statement said. “He has also asked the North Wales police to investigate whether some of the material served during the course of the proceedings has been dealt with properly. If not, this may constitute a contempt of court. Given that there is now the possibility of proceedings being brought, it is very important that there is no comment in the media which might jeopardise either the investigation or any subsequent proceedings.” The police, CPS and Premier Inn have said in the past that they did not give permission for the footage to be used. Under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 it is unlawful to publish material likely to lead members of the public to identify the victim in a rape case. Any breach of the act is a criminal offence. According to the victim’s father, she has been forced to change her identity five times and is effectively living life “on the run”, having repeatedly had her anonymity compromised. The website is part of a campaign funded by the father of Evans’s girlfriend, who has stood by him throughout, to protest his innocence. It reads: “Chedwyn Evans maintains his absolute innocence and his family, friends and many who know the true facts of the case believe that his conviction was a gross miscarriage of justice.” Last week, Evans issued a partial apology to the victim, who was 19 at the time of the rape. He apologised for the first time for the “effects that night in Rhyl has had on many people, not least the woman concerned”. He made the comments via the Professional Footballers’ Association after Oldham Athletic pulled out of a deal to sign him in the face of pressure from the public and sponsors. Related: Ched Evans’s ‘true friend and supporter’ abused victim of rape Evans was sentenced to five years in prison on 20 April 2012 after being convicted of raping the victim following a night out. The former Sheffield United player was released in October 2014 and vowed to clear his name. He served two and a half years in prison and is now out on licence. Nineteen people have been arrested and questioned by North Wales police on suspicion of naming Evans’s victim on social media. Ten were subsequently charged and convicted, including Evans’s cousin Gemma Thomas. |