Ulster Rugby Rape Trial - Not guilty to all charges

[Quimby]

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

I can't imagine there is a woman on earth who gives a shit what you think of her. Your arrogance is really weird.

I'm wondering how much Britain's sexist legal and political culture is being revealed by this case. It's a chance for the ROI to give a few lessons in 21st century Human Rights to the anglo saxons.

What form does your disrespect take,@wordtothewise? Towards these women who you judge to be lacking?

Alsobjust a question would it be helpful if I screenshot the picture of the rugby players who are calling women bitches online and are celebrating the verdict tonight - there is even a picture of a spit roast going around.

Do you think Ulster rugby actually care about these men bringing the game into disrepute?

Word, I think you need to take your issues elsewhere. Your problems, while clearly substantial, are not the point of the thread.

Going in to a vip area doesnt mean 'rape me'. Ffs

I already said that I can well believe she was raped. I'm an equal opportunities misanthrope.

There is a delicious irony in the suggestion that I am the kind of man no women would go near, almost as if women bestow good men (as judged) with affection and sex...by this measure the accused in this case we're until this incident, great guys as measured by their top shagger status.

Anyway, I'll bow out.

Tempur.. Of course it doesn't mean rape me. Just like the messages the men sent doesn't mean they are rapists just that they are self entitled and lack respect.
I think what wordtothewise is trying to get at is that there is a reason they feel like this, there are girls out there that throw themselves at these men and take part in the sort of activities described (willingly).
I don't know if they are guilty or innocent, neither does anyone else on here.

I went to the Belfast rally too & thought it a really good turnout for being organised at short notice. Someone had a placard that said #stand up for the Ulster woman which I liked. It was very powerful when the chanting started & I surprisingly welled up a couple of times. Great turnout in Dublin & grateful that there is a momentum building from this. Really hopeful that she has seen all this as she was so brave throughout the trial.

Treacle/powershower do either of you know who the first Lady that spoke at the Belfast rally was?

Have you see the letter from another rape victim to support her? Will try to find a link. It basically says what a hero she was for going ahead when there was so little hope of a conviction.

It's a sad but a telling tale of our society that a (very) small number of men seem to feel that their manhood is somehow being attacked by everyone calling these men out on their crimes. I think the point about compulsory education in schools is very important around this. It sickens me that some men are passing on entitled male misogynistic views to their innocent children & that those views aren't currently being corrected in schools.

Just heard on the 11 o clock bbc news about the thousands who turned out in Belfast and Dublin to support this young woman. Wonderful stuff. I hope it brings her comfort. 12 idiots and a poor judge let her down but thousands stand for her.

Cupcake... Those 12 idiots were given 9 weeks worth of evidence, and a task nobody would want... You have read some stories in the press. You can't blame them, you don't know what they know or why they reached the unanimous decision that they did.

Lichtie, I've done jury service, though not on such a serious case. But several of my fellow jurors were really incredibly clueless.

I couldn't get to the rally in Belfast today, but there is talk of a second one on Saturday at City Hall so I am going to try to make that one.

I got chills watching the chanting, and seeing all the people there. I hope the woman at the centre of this case is aware of it all. I hope it brings her a bit of comfort in what must be an absolutely harrowing time.

buckeejit, the crowd had died down by the time I got there as I spent most of my lunch hour getting there and back so only had about 10 minutes actually there. Missed the main bit of it but glad I went.

I was really glad to be at the Belfast rally today. It heartened me that so many turned out. I'm glad that you felt chills rockshandy. The chanting was an emotional couple of minutes.

Just musing on the burden of proof of consent and trying to do a thought experiment. Basically, the men were accused of a crime and must be considered innocent unless proven otherwise. So the onus was on the prosecution to prove non-consent. But what if it was the other way around?

Suppose she had bitten Stuart Olding's cock off, and she was the defendant in the case, accused of GBH. If the prosecution's case was that she had happily agreed to give him a blowjob, then bit his penis off out of pure malice; and the defendant contended that she did not consent, was being gang raped and bit him out of panic/reflex action- who has to prove consent, or lack thereof, to the oral sex (and the simultaneous vaginal penetration by a third party)? What are the legal technicalities?

buckeejit I'm not sure who spoke in what order. For the first few minutes I couldn't hear the speakers over the noise of the traffic. I know there was a lady from Nexus, and Claire Bailey from the Green Party. I read the name of someone else earlier too but I can't find it now.

I made the mistake of commenting on social media earlier saying I had been there. And predictably received abuse. A male friend who also posted received polite discussion.

This whole thing reminds me of this case in 1997 www.google.ca/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/army-rape-charges-dismissed-1235114.html%3famp
Twenty years and nothing changes.

Mamaryllis

A spokeswoman for the Army said: "The Army authorities will now consider what action would be appropriate. Until that consideration is complete we are unable to comment.

Interested to know if there was any follow up on that or did it just ‘go away’?

'Do you think young women who must now be well aware of how these men perceive them will be dissuaded from donning nice underwear and trying to get into VIP parties ? I doubt it somehow.'

wordtothewise - please could you explain what relevance a person's underwear has?

IRFU will simply wait when their is less publicity and lift the suspension. I think they will have no choice as the players involved will probably threaten to sue if they are not.

Totallymyownperson I agree that this is the most likely outcome. However I wish it wasn’t the case and the misogynistic content of their texts could be enough to get them expelled.

I'm trying to take a little comfort from the fact that #ibelieverher is still trending. I hope these men are shunned by everyone on the streets.

Totallymyownperson I’d love to seek them out and give them a piece of my mind. (I totally wouldn’t of course, because I have been raised to understand social boundaries, and what is and isn’t an acceptable way to behave.)