Evans rape victim 'named online'

Police are investigating reports that the woman raped by footballer Ched Evans has been named and abused on a social networking site.

It follows a complaint to North Wales Police by a leading rape charity, which said the alleged comments on Twitter were "profoundly disturbing".

Sheffield United and Wales striker Evans, 23, was jailed for five years at Caernarfon Crown Court on Friday after being found guilty of raping the woman who was "too drunk to consent".

A spokeswoman for North Wales Police said: "We are aware of some comments made on social media sites and we are collating all relevant information."

Rape and other sexual assault victims are guaranteed the legal right to lifetime anonymity. But victims' groups fear the current criminal justice rules could be inadequate to guarantee anonymity in the age of social media.

And the latest revelations would add credence to the argument that the law needs updating to prevent victims being identified on the internet.

Holly Dustin, director of the End Violence Against Women coalition, and Rape Crisis England and Wales, said: "This raises serious questions about the adequacy of the criminal justice system to deal with offences that occur online and we are calling for an urgent review of laws and practices."

Evans admitted having sex with the victim, then aged 19, at a hotel in north Wales last May.

In her evidence, the woman said she has no memory of the incident and the prosecution argued she was too drunk to consent to sexual intercourse.

Evans' co-accused, Port Vale defender Clayton McDonald, 23, who also admitted having sex with the victim, was found not guilty of the same charge.