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To be totally baffled (Ched Evans related)

828 replies

soapboxqueen · 19/10/2014 12:45

Just reading in the guardian that Ched Evans has applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to review his case. That's fine because it is part of our due process and legal system.

However, in the article it points out that his girlfriend's father is paying for appeal barristers, private detectives and even offering a reward for information in order to help his appeal. Why would you do that? Why would you put up so much money to protect a person who at best (from their perspective at least) cheated on your daughter in a rather deplorable fashion and at worst a rapist? Why would got want your daughter to be with such a person?

I really don't understand.

I'll see if I can get the link to work.

OP posts:
MyEmpireOfDirt · 20/10/2014 11:51

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bleedingheart · 20/10/2014 11:51

I thought she was 19. No it's not an excuse, you are right MEOD.

bleedingheart · 20/10/2014 11:56

I didn't know she was involved in the hounding. I have no sympathy then.

I heard an interview some months ago on 5Live with a relative (cousin?) who had published the victim's name and she acknowledged she shouldn't have but didn't really seem to get why she was wrong to do so.

YonicScrewdriver · 20/10/2014 12:00

The victim was 19

Apologies if I'm wrong re her knowing McDonald.

MyEmpireOfDirt · 20/10/2014 12:02

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gypsygirlfromlondon · 20/10/2014 12:04

I was talking to my DH about the possible reasons why the girlfriend's father would support Ched. We decided that it is the whole culture of male " entitlement" that must be very prevalent in Ched's family and friendship circles which encourages a situation whereby the father supports a man who has been found guilty of rape and cheated in such a fashion.

The males have clearly rallied round Ched and blame the victim instead of their realising their own mysogynistic notion of having any woman they want, when they want are wrong. The girlfriend is enabling the situation but maybe she is being pressured into standing by him to keep face, who knows?

The victim was young and vulnerable. The two men should have seen her home and protected her. Instead, they acted in a predatory fashion and took every advantage of her being alone and drunk.

Ched's behavior is beyond revolting. He is able to completely disregard his responsibilities as a professional role model to boys, his girlfriend and disrespect the consent of the victim.

I pity the naive girlfriend who believes in him still. Either that , or being a WAG is far more important to her.

It's all vile. Ched clearly has loads of blokes surrounding him who support him because well, it was only a quick one night stand, it's what men do! The two women and their feelings are irrelevant, they are being controlled by a male dominant pack mentality.

Either that or the father just can't accept his daughter has badly chosen and is trying to protect her from further embarrassment.

Cheating men are often unrepentant and do it again. A man who truly loved a woman would never behave like this. The whole thing is just chavy and sordid. Don't care how much money they have.

My sympathy lies with the victim. She made mistakes and was silly and young but those two men treated her despicably.

I've had boyfriends who have come from these types of backgrounds and it's just completely rooted in their approach to stick together in large extended family/ friendship groups and control the response of the women in their lives. I was a trophy girlfriend for 5 years and had no say ever in what we did or where we went. Had to dress for him, buy what he wanted, no say in our home, holidays... nothing. He was footy mad and I was expected to fit in with his lifestyle in every way. If you do something wrong and don't play the game, you get verbally abused, ignored or threatened. The underlying aggression is always there and supported by the rest of the family as their son is never wrong! He even used to send me out to buy his porn; Playboy, Mayfair etc. It was just all macho swagger and bravado. From a damaged backround myself, I just accepted it.

Of course his mother will protect him and blame feminists. It's never the son's fault. The family of my ex partner was exactly the same. He was the golden boy who could do no wrong even though he was sent to a high security prison for 3 years, sentenced to 6 after committing a serious offence. The women are sidelined but one step out of line and you are in trouble. It's just how they function.

I suppose when push comes to shove, Ched's situation boils down to maintaining his money and status . Hang decency and morals.

bleedingheart · 20/10/2014 12:05

I'm not arguing with you or saying she wasn't hounding? I said I wasn't aware of it. I was ignorant not supportive of them.

MyEmpireOfDirt · 20/10/2014 12:07

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MyEmpireOfDirt · 20/10/2014 12:08

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deadduck · 20/10/2014 12:22

Yes, yes, rape, 100%, But I still don't get at all why the other guy got away with it. She didn't drink any more at that point. So why was she able to give consent with him? Don't get it. At all.

purplefeathers · 20/10/2014 12:26

I have no sympathy for Natasha Massey either. She's a disgrace. She hounded the victim and branded her a liar. She continues to publicly brand her a liar now. She's therefore facilitating and condoning the behaviour of a rapist.

Poor Natasha Massey had to close down her twitter account because of abuse she was receiving. The victim of her rapist boyfriend had to flee her home and her support network because of abuse from Natasha Massey and her family.

Natasha Massey is no better than her rapist boyfriend in my opinion.

differentnameforthis · 20/10/2014 12:27

She made mistakes and was silly

No & no. She was raped because she was in the company of a rapist. NOTHING she did was silly, nor a mistake.

THEY made the mistakes, not her.

differentnameforthis · 20/10/2014 12:32

deadduck It's really not that hard if you read about it...

She went with him to the hotel so it could be argued that he BELIEVED he had consent. Technicality. But there you go.

LeBearPolar · 20/10/2014 12:36

deadduck - I think it's because of the differing circumstances of how the men came to have sex with her. She got in the taxi and went to the hotel room willingly with McDonald so I presume (I have no idea what was said inside that hotel room) the jury felt he could reasonably believe she consented to sex? Note that I am not saying that her actions in going with him equal consent to sex but it's the only difference I can see in trying to interpret the jury's decision. Whereas Evans just arrived to 'have a go' out of the blue. But you're right about her level of intoxication: how she could consent to one and not the other is not very clear.

sangfreude · 20/10/2014 12:40

Absolutely different name for this.

She was targeted by predators who reduced her humanity to a space between her legs.

She was in a room with rapists, which is why she was raped. No other reason.

YonicScrewdriver · 20/10/2014 12:44

I do not believe she had capacity to consent to either.

However, it is possible to become more incapacitated without drinking more if you have drunk a lot and then it kicks in, or if you have yhr chance to lie down and are then drifting in and out of a waking state.

purplefeathers · 20/10/2014 12:46

It's the 'beyond reasonable doubt' thing isn't it? If there is a slight question in the minds of the members of the jury, they can't return a guilty verdict.

In Evans' case there was clearly no evidence heard to convince them that the victim consented.

If if the victim gave consent to one person it didn't automatically mean she was happy for anyone to enter the room and 'have a go'.

MyEmpireOfDirt · 20/10/2014 12:47

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Everyotherfreckle · 20/10/2014 13:10

Christ on a bike I have just looked on Sheffield United's Facebook page and now I think I need brain bleach (and that's just for the ones that were literate enough for me to be able to decipher).

Sometimes I think that the evolution of human brains has acually begun to regress.

clam · 20/10/2014 13:11

But wasn't there evidence to suggest that at some point her drink had been spiked? (Not sure by whom). The fact that she had no memory of what had happened also points to that - as I'm guessing that "just" drinking a lot (and she did say that she usually drank more than she did on that evening, with no real ill-effects and certainly not the same after-effects as in this case) would mean at least some recognition.

YonicScrewdriver · 20/10/2014 13:19

I think she thought she might have been but there was no way of knowing.

LeonardoAcropolis · 20/10/2014 13:51

Hello, does anyone know why the enquiry into the rapist Ched Evan's case is being fast tracked? apologies if this has already been covered.

soapboxqueen · 20/10/2014 14:03

Nobody knows why his application has been fast tracked at this point and his solicitors/barristers haven't commented. Most believe that it is because his career is, by its nature, short lived, that a miscarriage of justice should be rectified quickly.

However the commission were quick to point out that the speed at which his case was reviewed was no indication of the strength of his case to have the conviction quashed.

OP posts:
AnyFucker · 20/10/2014 14:03

His petition for the right to appeal has been fast tracked, which is not the same thing.

AnyFucker · 20/10/2014 14:04

He has made similar applications before and been turned down. Let's hope common sense (at least in this small aspect) continues to prevail.