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Ulster Rugby Rape Trial - Not guilty to all charges

980 replies

Quimby · 28/03/2018 12:35

Verdict just returned
Not guilty to all four accused, all unanimous decisions.

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DeleteOrDecay · 31/03/2018 13:16

Awful, as I mentioned on the other thread, yet another reason not to bother reporting a rape. Can't even set foot in a court room without being hounded and harassed.

I need to make a list.

Becauseimworthit79 · 31/03/2018 13:16

Just no words. It’s like the Ched Evans case all over again with the defendants getting away with it because of their celebrity status.
She is extremely brave to have gone through her trial and I hope she knows that there is a lot of people who do people her.
I hope Paddy tries to sue as it really exposes what he is.

Elendon · 31/03/2018 13:10

Bloody hell Maryz that link! Angry

It's like knitting at the guillotine.

Maryz · 31/03/2018 13:02

This a just horrible

To so many people the case was just entertainment Sad

In Ireland both the complainant and the defendants are anonymous in rape cases, so the public don't get to watch; I suppose there are pros and cons to this - had the case been tried in Ireland there would be no public backlash in the way that we are seeing this week.

iheartmichellemallon · 31/03/2018 11:51

Me too Isthis.

Isthisnameacceptable01 · 31/03/2018 09:40

Hope the marches organised today get a good turn out.

donthaveascooby · 31/03/2018 09:21

Brilliant from twitter:

"He never told anyone not to comment on it. So I just presumed he was enjoying the comments. Im sure if he said no everyone would have respected his decision. Then my friends wanted to comment on him&he never said no. I assumed he was consenting #suemepaddy"

Rufustherenegadereindeer1 · 31/03/2018 09:12

What zibbi said

And im not angry

OkPedro · 31/03/2018 01:58

Well yes because rape isn't about sex at all
I was in my 20's before I realised that 😥

CarrotyO · 31/03/2018 01:42

*rapists

CarrotyO · 31/03/2018 01:41

Roosts know exactly what they are doing. They get off on women’s pain and humiliation.

ZibbidooZibbidooZibbidoo · 31/03/2018 01:31

Sorry, bewilderness

ZibbidooZibbidooZibbidoo · 31/03/2018 01:29

Sad Thanks bewildered

thebewilderness · 31/03/2018 01:27

It is because children are so easy to get access to and so easily threatened. I know this from personal experience as well as study.

ZibbidooZibbidooZibbidoo · 31/03/2018 01:25

Wow! 200 times. That’s some faith in the odds being in your favour. They don’t get that kind of confidence from nowhere.

thebewilderness · 31/03/2018 01:23

Keep digging, Box.

thebewilderness · 31/03/2018 01:18

The authorities on pedophilia say that they offend an average of 200 times before they are caught.
The evidence from rape kits being processed are beginning to show a similar frequency.

Xenophile · 31/03/2018 00:38

I would hope that the recent idea of talking about consent from pretty much birth would eventually pay dividends, but I don't hold out enormous hope.

Rapists know what rape is, it's not a mistake or an oversight or anything like it, they know what they're doing, and they know they will almost certainly get away with it even if the woman reports.

By present trends, it's estimated that a rapist has a 2 in 1,000 chance of being convicted for their crimes, those are very good odds of getting clean away with it. If you're the kind of man who gets his kicks from constantly watching women being raped every which way in porn, then those odds must look really enticing actually.

We have seen, from the enormous backlog of rape kits in various places in the USA which are only now being worked, that rapists rarely strike once. Maybe those men get a taste for it, or maybe they've weighed up the odds of getting caught, going to trial, being convicted and receiving an appropriate sentence? Given also that we know that the vast majority of rapes are committed by men that their victims know, it does raise questions about how these men are allowed to get away with it for as long as they are, and, if they are well off enough or charming enough how much longer they will get away with it, even if pulled in for questioning. Much of the world seems to spend a lot of time making excuses for these types of men, we've seen it on this thread even. None of these things are their victims' fault.

These examples are only in the West, when we know that rape is a worldwide problem and a well worn weapon of war and has been probably since the birth of patriarchal social systems. We make a huge error when we suggest that rapists in the West are somehow more honourable than their brothers in crime in the rest of the world.

I wonder, as a thought experiment, and without any judgement, how many of the men's legal teams would be willing to let their daughters, nieces, granddaughters go to a party those young men from Ulster Rugby attend?

OkPedro · 31/03/2018 00:28

Ah I've only just caught up with the suemepaddy gluteus thanks!

rockshandy · 31/03/2018 00:28

www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/823-alleged-rapes-reported-northern-14477973

From the article:

If we use the PSNI’s own 2016/17 figures , it would suggest rape reports now have a 1.8% chance of resulting in a guilty verdict – when, if Home Office calculations are to be believed, 96% of victims are telling the truth.

Speechless really. 1.8%?

gluteustothemaximus · 31/03/2018 00:19

Are they going to sue thousands of twitter users

Yes, this is what prompted the #suemepaddy 😂

myrtleWilson · 31/03/2018 00:15

I am interested in the Icelandic law change but I have to say when I saw it a year or two ago (I forget exactly - so apologies) but the tea analogy was brilliant - does anyone know if the tea analogy is used in schools - why not advertised on tv etc. I know this won't alone stop rape but surely (maybe naïvely) more change will be brought about by cultural change rather than retrospective legal action (I know its not an either or) I suppose I'm thinking of - and I acknowledge its a very poor analogy - the clink clunk message about seat belts or the change in attitude to drink driving. Yes there is a legal backstop but actually the change came more from cultural appropriation and peer expectations?

CarrotyO · 31/03/2018 00:12

Just ignore him. If mumsnet had any compassion they would block him not delete the thread.

OkPedro · 31/03/2018 00:10

thecraicdealer
These people think the victim agreeing to go back to a party and possibly kissing a man flirting etc means she can't have been raped
I agree people seem to want actual video evidence
This woman was looking for fame to be a wag she must have made it up

I have a 9 year old dd I am so afraid of her growing up and facing this shit just because she's a woman

OkPedro · 31/03/2018 00:05

I agree with Maryz
Someone is looking to have this discussion shut down
So please don't engage

I wonder how that solicitor thinks they can sue Aodhan O'Riordan
He didn't mention any names and MANY people have made similar comments regarding #ibelieveher
Are they going to sue thousands of twitter users

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