Prosecutors are to seek a retrial if former Sheffield United footballer Ched Evans wins an appeal against his conviction for raping a teenager, a court has heard.
The former Welsh international appeared in person for a two-day hearing at the court of appeal in London, which was held over an issue of fresh evidence, and has now concluded.
Judges Lady Justice Hallett, Mr Justice Flaux and Sir David Maddison told the court their judgment would be reserved and handed down in April. Prosecutor Eleanor Laws QC told the court that when a judgment comes back, and if Evans is successful, the crown would seek a retrial.
Evans’s case was referred to the court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates possible miscarriages of justice. However, details of the legal argument heard on Tuesday and Wednesday cannot currently be reported because of a court order.
The CCRC announced last October that new evidence had emerged in the case after a 10-month investigation by the commission.
Evans was convicted in April 2012, when a jury at Caernarfon crown court found him guilty of raping the woman at a hotel in Rhyl, north Wales.
Evans, now 27, was released from prison in 2014 after serving half of his five-year sentence. He was joined in court by his mother, grandmother, siblings and girlfriend, Natasha Massey.
