Ched Evans rape trial: Footballer 'could have had any girl'

Ched Evans has been accompanied to court by his fiancee Natasha Massey

Footballer Ched Evans told police he "could have had any girl" in a bar on the night he allegedly raped a woman, a court has heard.

The Chesterfield forward denies raping a 19-year-old at a Premier Inn in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, on 30 May 2011.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the alleged victim arrived "crying hysterically" at a friend's house the next day.

Mr Evans, 27, was found guilty of rape at Caernarfon Crown Court in 2012, but that conviction was quashed in April.

The court heard the woman returned to the hotel with Clayton McDonald after meeting him at Rhyl's Zu Bar.

Mr McDonald, 27, previously of Manchester City and Port Vale but now at non-league Redditch United, was cleared of rape at the original trial.

In a statement made to police in May 2011, which was read to the jury, Mr Evans told detectives he got a key from reception and entered the room to find the alleged victim having sex with Mr McDonald.

"Clay [Clayton McDonald] was saying, 'can my mate join in?' And she went, 'yeah'."

He said the woman was "enjoying herself" and asked him to perform a sex act on her.

In a second interview with police in July 2011, Mr Evans said he and Mr McDonald had a threesome with a woman when they shared a "bachelor pad" four or five years earlier.

"It's not a normal thing but in the situation we're in, stuff like that does happen because girls like it. They have got two footballers there," he said.

The court heard Mr Evans told police officers he and Mr McDonald "could have had any girl" they wanted in the bar in Rhyl on the night of the alleged rape.

He added: "Footballers are rich, they have got money and that's what girls like."

Mr Evans, whose previous clubs include Manchester City, Sheffield United and Norwich, said Mr McDonald left before he made his own exit via a hotel fire escape.

When asked why he did not stay, he replied: "I've got a girlfriend, she rings me if she doesn't get a call from me in the night. I didn't want to be there in case my girlfriend rang me."

Gavin Burrough, the night receptionist at the hotel, told the court the woman was "extremely drunk".

"I saw her face a couple of times. Her eyes were glazed over and she had a vacant expression. She didn't seem to notice I was there," he said.

He told the court that later, during his rounds, he heard a woman "squealing" from inside the room as well as "panting noises" and a man using a sexual phrase in a "playful" tone.

Ched Evans has scored four goals in eight appearances for Chesterfield this season

Jessica Dawson, a receptionist who saw the complainant the next day, added: "She was crying and appeared to be upset and kept saying she could not remember how she got to the hotel or what happened."

The court heard the woman believed one of her drinks was spiked - but not by Mr Evans or Mr McDonald.

Earlier, jurors heard a police statement from one of the complainant's friends.

She heard "loud banging" on her door, adding: "I opened the door and found there was [the complainant]. She was crying hysterically."

The alleged victim told her she had "woken up naked in the Premier Inn" and she did not know how she got there.

The trial continues.