North Wales - Ched Evans rape case "he has called some men to throw discredit on [the woman's] sexual reputation"

His Rape Case 'sets us back 30 years'

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• From the sectionWales

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Image copyrightWALES NNEWS SERVICE

A former solicitor general has said she is concerned the Ched Evans rape case could discourage victims of sexual offences from coming forward.

The 27-year-old footballer was cleared on Friday of raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room.

Vera Baird told the BBC that details of the woman's sexual past should not have been heard in court.

Mr Evans was found guilty of rape in 2012, but that conviction was quashed in April.

The Chesterfield striker was accused of attacking the woman at a Premier Inn in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, on 30 May 2011.

The original conviction was referred to the Court of Appeal following a 10-month investigation by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which found new information not raised at the original trial.

The evidence concerned two other men who claimed they had sex with the woman around the same time of the alleged offence and who described their encounters with her in highly specific terms that were similar to Mr Evans's own account of what had happened.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionChed Evans was playing for Sheffield United at the time of the alleged rape

Since 1999, defence lawyers have been banned from cross-examining alleged rape victims in court about their sexual behaviour or history but the Court of Appeal said Mr Evans' case was exceptional.

Lady Justice Hallett ruled that these events were so similar to what Mr Evans had described that a jury had to hear about them before deciding whether the woman had been incapable of giving her consent.

Ms Baird, who was instrumental in bringing about the change in law, told the BBC's Today programme: "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.

"We've gone back, I'm afraid, probably about 30 years."