Jurors hearing the retrial of the international footballer Ched Evans on a charge of rape have been warned not to carry out their own research on the case.
The prosecution is due to begin its case against the 27-year-old former Manchester City striker at Cardiff crown court on Tuesday afternoon. Evans denies rape.
Ahead of the prosecution opening, the judge, Mrs Justice Nicola Davies, told the jury of six men and six women: “This case has history.”
She said Evans and a second man had been tried for rape at Caernarfon crown court in north Wales. The second man was acquitted and Evans successfully appealed against his conviction. The court of appeal had ordered this retrial.
The judge said there had been previous reporting of the case but the jurors had to ignore anything they had heard or read. “You are to try the case on the evidence you will hear in this court during this trial, nothing else,” she told the panel.
She also instructed the jurors not to research the case on the internet and to stay clear of anything on social media, including Twitter and Facebook, relating to it. The judge warned the jurors they could be jailed if they ignored her instructions.
Welsh international Evans, who now plays for League One side Chesterfield, breathed deeply as the names of the jurors were read out to him.
Simon Medland QC, prosecuting, told the court that the case related to an incident at a Premier Inn in north Wales in May 2011.
He read a list of 40 names of people who may be called as witnesses or mentioned during the proceedings and asked the jurors to raise a hand if they had heard of any of them. Nobody did.
Earlier, Evans arrived hand in hand at court with his fiancee, Natasha Massey.
