I know where I stand on the Ched Evans case.

Unless and until his conviction is overturned, he is a convicted rapist who, although he may have been released from prison, is still serving the remainder of his sentence on licence. He will have to sign the Sex Offender's Register for life (nature of offence and length of sentence), there will be restrictions on what work he can undertake, possibly barring him from working with anyone under 18. How would that fit with a pro-footballer and the academy?

He should be encouraged to seek another career and for those who say that's a restraint of trade. If Evans had been a schoolteacher, would you be happy with him teaching your daughter after his release?

Which career is acceptable for convicted rapists?

Having visited the hometown of the victim on many occasions, and spoke to many locals, I can safely say there is a lot more to the case than is 'officially' in the open.

Personally, from the many differing accounts of both the case and the characters involved, the only thing I'm pretty sure of, is that all involved were very naïve to have allowed themselves to be in the situation that lead to the eventual conviction of Evans.

whatever one he is allowed into. There must be plenty, I doubt every convicted rapist is unemployed

So what exactly did you mean when you said he should be encouraged to seek a different career?

The Ched Evans conviction has always had a huge question mark hanging over it. Read the evidence and arguments of the defence and Crown and the conviction is sketchy at best. The CCTV, toxicology and other expert evidence do very little to support the claim of rape. The girl was also shown to have lied in court.

But the real issue is it came down to their word against hers (even though she could apparently remember nothing), and whether she was capable of consent when Evans entered the room. Essentially she was deemed capable of consent for sex with McDonald (acquitted), but not with Evans a few minutes later.

As for his career, I don't see why anyone who has served their time according to the law should be persecuted. If we as a society decide Evans should be denied the chance to rebuild his career, do we do the same for all other crimes, or just those we find the most repellant? If his employer sees fit to take him back on, so be it.

I'm sure there are many lads on here who've had one night stands with extremely drunk partners, who may have been up for a bit of hanky panky under the influence and may or may not have woken to regret their actions. Could that constitute rape? Or poor judgement?

I have precisely zero love for footballers (and less for rapists), but this case has never sat well with me.

Having done some reading of the available materials on Evans' case, I for one do not believe he should have been convicted. He and his mate ended up having sex with the complainant at more or less the same time yet by the jury's decision, she was able to give consent until Evans swapped places, at which instant she suddenly became unable to give consent. So, his mate was acquitted of rape yet Evans was convicted, when there was zero forensic evidence, no complaint of rape (or anything else), and the only accounts of what happened were those of Evans and his mate. Who said she agreed to making it a threesome, and was enthusiastic about what followed. Sordid behaviour by all concerned, but although Evans may have the sexual mores of a ginger tom, that does not make him a rapist.

Guess we'll just have to see what the Criminal Case Review Board have to say, after all he has already been refused the right to appeal

You are correct, but he surely has the right to earn a living in his chosen trade (unless it has specific restrictions like teaching etc). I listened to a debate on R5 Live the other day and there was a lot of callers whose main objection was the amount of money he earned, rather than being an unsuitable job for a criminal once released. I don't see how him being a footballer, who will actually spend most of his working time in front of a few dozen others when training and 20k when playing will put others at risk any more than if he became a plumber or a welder.

The alternative is to have him do nothing for the rest of his life.

I'm not sure what the public want with regards to Evans getting back into employment. If he doesn't play football again, what job is appropriate for him to do? How much should he be allowed to earn before the public are in outrage? Maybe he should sign on and claim benefits because that would really give the public something to moan about!

Call me a cynic but I reckon the only reason that Sheffield have allowed him back into training is because they have an asset that they wish to move on to another club.

Whether he gets back into the game is another matter. But if he does I hope for his mental well-being that he's a strong character. Can you imagine the abuse he will suffer from opposition fans? That's one of the reasons I suggested he find another avenue of employment

I won't call you a cynic. I'll just call you wrong. He's out of contract so he's a free agent.



BS.