Ched Evans case: police hunt trolls

Ched Evans said he is ‘disassociating’ himself from anyone who names or abuses female complainant. Police are monitoring social media accounts to crack down on people naming the complainant in the Ched Evans case.Many people have publicly the named the woman online, after the footballer was cleared of rape on Friday after a retrial.The law gives lifetime anonymity to those who make allegations of sexual offences meaning anyone who names the complainant could be prosecuted and fined.In a statement on his website yesterday, Evans said he disowns anyone who names or abuses the complainant.He said: “Following yesterday’s decision at Cardiff Crown Court I want to stress that I absolutely disassociate myself from anyone who names on any forum the woman in this case. Or makes any offensive comments about her.”North Wales Police have already put out a warning to people on social media not to name the victim.Bethan King, a spokeswoman for North Wales Police, told the Standard they have opened a special log to record complaints against people who have taken to social media to reveal the woman’s name.She said officers are monitoring accounts on Facebook and Twitter to crack down on those naming the complainant.Superintedent Jo Williams, of North Wales Police, said after the verdict on Friday: “We acknowledge the decision of the jury.”“We are aware that once again the victim has been named on social media. “We would remind people that it is a criminal offence under Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Amendments Act to do so, and that the victim has the right to lifelong anonymity. An investigation is ongoing into the naming.“People need to be aware that they could find themselves being arrested and prosecuted. “This was done previously, people were prosecuted and heavily fined.”North Wales Police said no one has yet been arrested.The evidence heard in the Ched Evans rape trial should not have been admitted in court, a former solicitor general said yesterday.The Wales international footballer was acquitted of rape on Friday following a five-year battle to clear his name.In a rare move, the jury at Cardiff Crown Court heard evidence from two men who had sex with the complainant around the time of the rape allegation.Vera Baird, police and crime commissioner for Northumbria and former solicitor general, told Radio 4’s Today programme that the case had set things back by “about 30 years”.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.“We’ve gone back, I’m afraid, probably about 30 years.”The striker, 27, was originally convicted of raping a woman in a Premier Inn near Rhyl, north Wales, in May 2011.He served half of a five-year prison sentence before being released but there was a public outcry when he attempted to return to professional football.Evans joined League One club Chesterfield FC after the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction and ordered a retrial earlier this year.His family had employed private investigators to gather new evidence, with a £50,000 reward offered for information to help his case.The jury of seven women and five men took less than three hours to find Evans not guilty of the charge following the eight-day trial.