Can anybody be convicted of rape on the testimony of someone who says they don't remember anything?

[Dazey]

This may be something of a touchy subject but there's a current story in the UK press of a football player who was convicted of raping a 19 year old girl. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison and served half of that time before being released this morning.

The general gist of the case as far as I understand it is that a friend of the guy who was convicted hooked up with the girl and brought her back to a hotel in the early hours of the morning where they both had sex with her and then left.

The girl woke up hours later with no recollection of what had happened and went to the police. Both men were charged but only one was convicted.

The thing I'm curious about is that assuming she wasn't drugged then how is it possible to make a case for rape in this instance?

It's pretty clear to me that both of these guys acted pretty atrociously but with no recollection and no eyewitnesses how can anybody make a case for a rape conviction in this case?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Evans_and_McDonald

[ZoSoRose]

Football players?

2?

19 years old?

Hotel?

Why the fuck would she go with them, what did she expect would happen? Not saying it justifies anything, but yikes!

[Len Cnut]

If CCTV footage shows she was clearly too fucked to make a desicion and then the next morning she wakes up with no clothes on, no recollection and some of their mates attempted to tape it would it not show on their attempt, or give some indication, how successful was the 'attempt'...at filming it i mean This just sounds like I'm fishing for the video, doesn't it?

But seriously! LITERALLY no recollection...and she objects to them and like...hmmm, i dunno. She weren't drugged cuz they'd've found it in the tests they did when they found weed and ching in her. Also, can't they tell from tests when you took the weed or ching? Then it just says 'she says' that weren't the night of the alleged rape. Or proven rape now, I guess, by the courts and everything.

I dunno, I guess I'd say there's room for doubt, based on whats there and not knowing the rest. I'd be inclined to lean in her favour cuz look, she wakes up, kit off, having been sorted out by them and she's like 'right, i ain't up for that' meaning she looks at em and they ain't anything she'd...consider if you get my meaning. So it stands to reason. Could she be lying? Why the fuck for? Who'd wanna go through this massive trial and shaming and trauma, to be what, that bird that got raped by laurel and hardy up there?

Then again, if there's doubt then you're sending someone indoors here and ruining their life, as far as livelihood and that. I dunno, i guess you'd have to fall more on the side of the girl based on whats there, especially with the judge saying on CCTV footage when they met her she was too fucked to make a desicion, what were two football players taking her up to their room and taking her fuckin' kit off for, what was it, a warm summers night or something? Give over Sorry, shouldn't laugh.

They admit they shagged her right? And the footage of them meeting show she couldn't make the desicion right? So they took her up to their room and shagged her AFTER that footage? There's the crux of why they're guilty i suppose, on the balance of evidence.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Lennie Godber

[dalsh327]

It doesn't matter if they're innocent or guilty, this will be hanging over their heads the rest of their lives and if her name was in the media, this will always follow her around the rest of her life. Sometimes it's better to deal with things behind closed doors and not have it go public.

[Ace Nova]

I think a lot of it would depend on how intoxicated the guys were. I mean, if they were equally intoxicated, how could you fault them? Basically, why would it only be the mens' fault in this situation?

There have been times, especially during my college years, that women came onto me....and I was drunk....and ended up hooking up with them because I was drunk. (Had I been sober, there may have been a good chance I wouldn't of hooked up with them).

It's a 2 way street, imo.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Kasanova King

[Chris1989]

Who hasn't had drunken sex and woke up the next morning with a realisation of regret.

[Satanisk_Slakt]

If you take advantage of someone who is so wasted they don't even know what's going on around them it's rape. Simple really. Problem is that it's hard to know whether the girl was that drunk.