AFTER TEN MONTHS of investigation, a committee from the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is set to make a decision soon on whether convicted rapist Ched Evans will get another chance to appeal.
The former footballer – best known for his stint at Sheffield United – was sentenced to five years in prison in April 2012 after being found guilty of raping a 19-year-old woman in a Welsh hotel.
He served two and a half years behind bars and was released in October 2014.
He already attempted to appeal the conviction in 2012 but his application was rejected by three judges in the Court of Appeal.
In July 2014, Evans applied to the CCRC to review his case and the commission prioritised it, spending the bulk of the last year investigating.
Evans submitted new evidence in January and April of this year in an effort to strengthen his case.
The CCRC could decide to grant Evans another opportunity in front of the Court of Appeal but only if they feel there’s ‘a real possibility that the conviction will be quashed’ once it gets there.
There are two other options: that more investigative work is required or that there are ‘no grounds’ to refer the case to the Court of Appeal.
Since being released from prison, Evans has attempted to resurrect his playing career and looked set to sign for Oldham in January before public pressure and the threat of sponsors ending their association with the club ensured they reluctantly abandoned their plans.
Evans apologised for ‘the effects that night in Rhyl’ had on all associated parties, ‘not least the woman concerned’ and later blamed ‘mob rule’ for the collapse of his proposed move to Oldham.
