Ulster Rugby Rape Trial - Not guilty to all charges

[Quimby]

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

Me too Isthis.

This a just horrible

To so many people the case was just entertainment

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.

Bloody hell Maryz that link!

It's like knitting at the guillotine.

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.

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.

the tea analogy is being used in schools - certainly at DDs school, where it is helping to get through to boys in particular exactly what consent means. I don't think it's part of a national thing though, PSHE seems to be up to individual schools, although there will be some national resources I'd've thought.

Rape trial day-trippers were another unsavoury feature of this trial

Jesus wept, thanks for the link MaryZ

“Yet this was one of the longest-running and the most high profile trials in Northern Ireland’s history. And during the case there were unsavoury aspects to the evidence which were not contested. Heavy drinking, group sexual activity and appalling phone messaging is not behaviour expected from role models.”

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/ulster-rugbys-response-will-pay-careful-consideration-to-the-brands-reputation-36758001.html

While I wouldn’t dare suggest the court got the wrong verdict (in fact quite the opposite, it seems the jury had no choice but to give the verdict they did given how the law works currently) and therefore these four men are presumed innocent in the eyes of the law, my last fleeting hope is that Ulster Rugby and their sponsors decide that due to the uncontested behaviour of these men they are of unsuitable character to represent their country.

In fact I might just find a list of sponsors and write to each of them with my concerns. I’m mindful that there is a lot of talk going on in this thread without much action...

Maryz that link - how horrid. I can well imagine the men walking out when the evidence turned to genitalia. It all sounds positively Victorian. How Rape trials are conducted really, really needs to change.

I think the IRFU will find it difficult to ignore a 50,000 signatories petition and the marches that are going on all over Ireland today.

We have to remember that the people objecting to them returning to Ulster and Ireland are doing so not because they were accused of rape, but because they have admitted to appalling behaviour and attitudes which could never be consistent with being role models for young people and ambassadors for their country, which sportsmen and women are these days.

The difficulty of course is that Jackson in particular will probably sue Ulster Rugby if they sack him so I hope they have a watertight "bringing the club into disrepute" clause in their contracts.

Again Maryz, after completely with everything you have said.

Agree, not after! Hate autocorrect

This article has spectacularly missed the point that the majority of objectors aren't saying the jury made an incorrect decision given the evidence, they are saying that (a) the system is wrong and (b) the guys are misogynistic, their attitudes stink and they should never play for Ireland again.

www.ulsterrugby.com/corporate/sponsors-and-partners.php#.Wr-pAhMo81I

The marches are amazing. Really give me hope. Irish women are really bloody angry.

I'm hoping that all his grim comments, together with his racist japes, will spell the end for Paddy Jackson's career. These men deserve to have their lives ruined.

Flooffloof, thank you

I am very late to this but having read the link to the trial I am horrified they were not found guilty
The poor girl
What reason did the juror give for finding not guilty?

Something that has occurred to me is that when Harrison told the others “she was hysterical- it was never going to end well” none of them asked him “why? What happened to her?” Because They already knew she left in a state. They witnessed it and they knew why. And not one of them went after her to ask her if she’s was ok or ask if she wanted a taxi ordered or to call someone for her. They didn’t care. Even if they truly believed they had had consensual sex, wouldn’t they have wondered why this woman was crying as she left their house?

That's a very good point Zibbidoo. I am absolutely furious about the whole trial. The pictures of the protests are giving me hope that the woman in question at least knows that people believe her, even if the trial was a humiliating farce.

Yes, that's something that occurred to me to.

When he messaged them to say "it's not good" and when they met the next day, at no point did any of them post a message along the lines of "I hope she's ok" or "did something happen to her" - they all knew she was upset and they didn't give a shite.

They also (according to the messages) had no idea who she was, what her name was, where she came from, nothing. In fact they were fucking lucky she was 19 not 16, they wouldn't have known

And worst of all, this was (seemingly) normal for them. This wasn't a once off, out of control, party. They appear to have done the same thing - got pissed and shared at least one woman - the night before/after (I can't remember which) according to the messages.

I learnt of this outcome first thing on Good Friday and it has cast a dark shadow over my Easter weekend. I feel so bleak. I have donated to this fundraiser to pay for a page in Irish newspaper.

www.gofundme.com noplaceonarugbyfield

I am not sure if it will make a difference but I felt compelled to do something...

What practical measures can we coach our daughters in? When I was a teenager/ young woman in the 90s, I don't think gang rape at social events was such a widespread risk, because porn was just not as available. I now genuinely believe that girls are at greater harm than ever and that men can literally get away with whatever they want as a result of this case.
Do I tell my girls not to go to mixed parties? Not to be left with a group of men even if she may know some of them? Not to drink? To be accompanied by a "safe" male at all times?
I feel something akin to despair....

Clicky link

www.gofundme.com/noplaceonarugbyfield

Practical measures. I really just don’t know. I mean other than deciding never to have sex with a man again what can we do? That woman was having a kiss with paddy in his bedroom. Presumably that’s where most of us will end up if we meet someone we like and want to take it further. We can’t take our girl friends with us into the bedroom or have them sit outside the door just incase. If we ever expect to have sex with a man we have to take the risk of being alone with him. I really can’t see what else that woman could have done. I’ve done exactly the same myself- fine to a house party, met someone I liked and gone to a bedroom with them. And plenty of those times I’ve had an inner monologue repeating in my head telling me he could be a rapist and reminding myself where the door is, who else is in the house, where my iPhone is, whether there is anything around to lamp him with if I need to get away. This is a risk I have accepted as a woman who has sex with men.