Two footie stars held for alleged rape of teen girl in drunken state

London, Apr 12 (ANI): Two footballers have been charged for the rape of a 19-year-old girl who was in an inebriated state in their hotel room, while a friend filmed the alleged incident on his mobile phone.

Wales striker Ched Evans and Port Vale defender Clayton McDonald, both 23, were on a night out in Rhyl, North Wales, last May bank holiday weekend when the teenager "literally stumbled across their path."

Sheffield United forward Evans, who scored two goals in his side's 5-2 defeat of Rochdale on Tuesday, and 6ft 6in McDonald claim they had consensual sex with the woman.

But prosecutor John Philpotts told Caernarfon Crown Court she was in no fit state to say "yes" - as she was "very drunk, stumbling, slurring and had a vacant expression on her face."

When a suspicious hotel worker went to the door of Room 14 at the Premier Inn, in Rhuddlan, near Rhyl, he heard "a female squealing, a male grunting" and a voice demanding that she perform oral sex.

Philpotts added that two of the defendants' friends was standing outside the hotel window watching, and mobile phone videos of the alleged sex attacks were later recovered by police.

The jury were told that the 19-year-old had finished work late on Sunday May 29 and had already drunk two glasses of wine when she went out in Rhyl to meet up with friends at the popular nightspot Zu Bar.

Philpotts said she arrived at the bar around 2am on the Monday morning and drank some vodka and a shot of Sambuca, but by the time she arrived at a nearby takeaway her memory was hazy.

"CCTV footage depicts her falling into the wall of a building, losing her balance, stumbling, trying to get into a taxi and being approached by Clayton McDonald," the Daily Mail quoted Philpotts as saying.

"Mr McDonald had also spent the night socialising in Rhyl with his friend Ched Evans and others.

"A taxi driver was flagged down by the victim and her clothing was disarranged, her bra visible. Mr McDonald also approached the taxi and got in. He paid for the fare to the Premier Inn.

"During the journey he made a call to Ched Evans saying he had 'got a girl'. It is the prosecution case that Mr Evans booked that room with the sole purpose of procuring a girl later that night. He and Clayton McDonald were on the lookout for any suitable girl and she had literally stumbled across their path," he said.

McDonald arrived with the woman and Evans followed a short time later, while two other men stayed outside - with one attempting to make a video, although because of low lighting, little of what happened can be seen.

"Both men were later to admit having sexual intercourse with her in that room but we say she did not truly consent and neither man reasonably believed she was consenting," the prosecutor added.

The court heard that when she awoke later that morning she was confused, alone and naked, with a pain in her right arm. She later contacted police and was examined by a doctor who noted bruising to her hands and legs.

A blood sample showed traces of cocaine and cannabis consistent with being taken some days earlier.

A mobile phone was recovered by police from Jack Higgins, a friend of the two footballers, which contained "unclear" footage taken through the hotel window. The other man outside, Philpotts claimed, was Ched Evans' brother - Ryan Roberts. (ANI)

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