Footballers rape trial: Woman 'in control of her actions'

Ched Evans (left) and Clayton McDonald at Caernarfon Crown Court

One of two footballers accused of raping a woman "too drunk to consent" told police she was "in control of her actions," a jury has heard.

Wales and Sheffield United striker Ched Evans, and Port Vale defender Clayton McDonald, both 23, deny the attack at a Premier Inn near Rhyl, Denbighshire.

Both men say they had consensual sex.

The woman said she has no memory of the incident and the prosecution at Caernarfon Crown Court argues she was too drunk to consent to sex.

But jurors heard how Mr McDonald told police the girl was not "slurring her words and falling all over the place".

In police interviews read to the jury, Liverpool-born Mr McDonald said Mr Evans, originally from St Asaph, Denbighshire, had invited him on a night out in the seaside town on a Bank Holiday weekend.

Questioned by Det Con Philip Williams, Mr McDonald said he met the complainant at the end of the night out, in the early hours of Monday, 30 May, 2011 as the footballers were standing with friends near a takeaway.

A fight broke out among other revellers and Mr McDonald said he decided to move away from the disturbance.

"I was looking to get a taxi, I just wanted to go home," he told police. He said he was "tipsy" after the night out but "knew what he was doing".

He "bumped into" the woman on a corner and asked her where she was going, to which she replied: "Where are you going?"

'Pretty'

He said he told her he was going back to his hotel and she responded: "I'm going with you."

Mr McDonald described the woman as "pretty".

He added that she was carrying a pizza box and said: "She wasn't slurring her words and falling all over the place.

"If that was the case I would have got into the taxi by myself."

When they arrived at the hotel, they walked "arm in arm" to the ground-floor room Mr Evans had booked in his friend's name, he said.

The jury heard how they sat on the bed and "she grabbed me and then I grabbed her".

'It just happened'

He said the woman initiated the sexual contact.

"When we got on the bed, it just happened," he said.

"Did you ask her if she wanted sex?" the officer asked.

"It just happened straight away. She just grabbed me and pulled me closer," Mr McDonald replied.

The footballer said she was saying sexually explicit things to him, adding: "So to me that was her telling me she knew what she wanted."

He said about 10 or 15 minutes later he noticed people at the window.

The jury was earlier told that as the incident took place, Jack Higgins, an "associate" of the footballers, and Ryan Roberts, Mr Evans' brother, had watched through a window.

Video recordings found on Mr Higgins' phone showed that he had been filming, or trying to film, the incident.

Mr McDonald said: "I clocked through the window Ryan and his mate and then Ched came into the room and said, 'Can I get involved?'.

"I looked at her and all she said was 'Yes'."

He told police he got dressed and left the room after saying "see you later" to the complainant.

He said he went to reception and asked the duty manager to ensure the woman got home.

He then met Mr Evans outside the hotel and they walked to his parents' house, the jury heard.

Mr McDonald told the officer the complainant was able to consent to sexual intercourse with both men and "was enjoying herself".

He told the officer he would not have gone to reception if he had just raped her.

"Someone who is meant to have raped someone doesn't go to someone and ask them to make sure she gets home okay," he added.

"That just doesn't make sense."

Asked how drunk she appeared to be, Mr McDonald said: "She was about the same as me, in control of her actions."

Both footballers are expected to give evidence on Tuesday.

The trial continues.