Ched Evans rape trial 'sets a dangerous precedent', Labour MPs warn Attorney General
'This will deter victims from disclosing their abuse and will reduce the number of victims presenting their cases to the police for fear of having their private lives investigated and scrutinised'
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Labour MPs have written to the attorney general warning the retrial of Ched Evans has set a 'dangerous precedent' for rape cases, it has been reported.
Jess Phillips, Harriet Harman and Angela Eagle are among the members of Labour’s women parliamentary party who have urged Jeremy Wright to back a change in the law to stop rape victims’ sexual history from being used against them in court, The Guardian reports.
Mr Evans was acquitted of rape earlier this month when appeal judges ruled details of the claimant's sexual behaviour were such that they discredited her allegations of rape because they were similar to her claims against the footballer.
In a letter to Mr Wright, a total of 40 MPs say the retrial sets a dangerous legal precedent which could deter other allegations from being made to authorities. They write: “The verdict and events in this case sets a dangerous precedent that how a victim of rape, usually a woman, has behaved in the past can be taken as evidence of the way she behaved at the time of the alleged rape.
“This will deter victims from disclosing their abuse and will reduce the number of victims presenting their cases to the police for fear of having their private lives investigated and scrutinised.”
They added: “The ruling will act to encourage defence lawyers in rape trials to effectively apply for an individual’s completely legal and private sexual history to be admissible as evidence.”
The MPs have called for a meeting with Mr Wright and the Ministry of Justice to discuss their concerns.
Following news of Mr Evans’ acquittal, former solicitor general Vera Baird also criticised the use of the claimant’s sexual history as evidence, telling Radio’s 4 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 alleged victim’s] sexual reputation.”
Mr Evans was accused of raping a woman in May 2011 in a hotel room near Rhyl in North Wales following a night out. He insisted he was innocent and said he had consensual intercourse with the woman. In a 2012 trial, he was found guilty and served 20 months of a five-year jail sentence.
However, the conviction as quashed by the Court of Appeal earlier this year. Two other men reportedly said they had sexual encounters with the woman around the time of the rape allegation in which the woman displayed similar behaviour.
Following a retrial, Mr Evans was found innocent earlier this month.