March 28, 2018

Ireland and Ulster rugby players Paddy Jackson, 25, and Stuart Olding, 25, were today acquitted of rape charges in Belfast Crown Court

Both had denied raping the same woman in Jackson’s house in the early hours of 28 June 2016.

Paddy Jackson, 25, was found not guilty of rape and penetrative sexual assault. Stuart Olding, 25, was found not guilty of rape.
Rory Harrison, 25, was found not guilty of charges of perverting the curse of justice and withholding information. Blane McIlroy, 26, was found not guilty of exposing his genitals.

The four had been charged that they had committed various offences between 27 June and 1 July in 2016.

The eleven-person jury, eight men and four women, was sent out by Judge Patricia Smyth at 10.30am on Tuesday and returned today (Wednesday morning) after a nine-week trial. When the trial opened on 30 January 12 jurors were originally sworn in – nine men and three women but this was reduced to 11 jurors after one juror was discharged due to illness.

They had deliberated for three hours and forty-five minutes before returning their verdict.

The jury heard from the 21-year-old complainant who spent over eight days in the witness box and heard how police interviewed the four rugby players at Musgrave Street PSNI station in Belfast on 25 separate occasions between June and October 2016, a total of 17 hours and 34 minutes.

A total of 31 witnesses gave evidence including medical experts, character witnesses and leading barristers.

The witnesses also included 10 police officers, two doctors, a forensic scientist and a taxi driver who had driven the woman home on the night of the alleged rape.

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The long road to Belfast Agreement

ROCHESTER, Ind. (WNDU) – A former wide receiver for the Notre Dame football team was arrested before his court hearing Tuesday morning.

Kevin Stepherson arrived at the Fulton County Courthouse in Rochester for a violation of his probation. Upon his arrival, he was arrested before stepping foot into the courtroom and taken to the Fulton County Law Enforcement Center.

This comes after multiple run-ins with the law over the last six weeks.

Stepherson was originally arrested for possession of marijuana in August of 2016 when he and four other teammates were pulled over in Fulton County. In March, Stepherson entered a plea to have his charges removed as long as he could stay out of trouble for one year. In June, the court accepted that plea for what’s known as a conditional discharge.

But the former Irish wide receiver, who was kicked off the football team earlier this month, has not stayed out of trouble.

On December 14th, Stepherson was pulled over in Marshall County. He was later charged with possession of marijuana, speeding, and no valid driver’s license. The next day, he was arrested for shoplifting a pair a pair of sweatpants from Macy’s at the University Park Mall in Mishawaka. He was picked up walking out of the store wearing an stolen $59 pair of Nautica sweatpants he allegedly did not purchase. He’s been charged with conversion, a class A misdemeanor from this incident. Both of those incidents were first reported by WNDU.

Then on Friday, Stepherson was arrested again for possession of marijuana, this time in Whitley County.

Fulton County prosecutors first filed a petition to revoke Stepherson’s plea deal for conditional discharge on December 29th and have amended that petition a few times since then; including as recently as Monday, when they filed an amended two petition to terminate his conditional discharge.

Stepherson cannot post bond and will remain behind bars for at least a week while he awaits his next hearing on Tuesday, February 6.

A judge will decide on one of three options: continue Stepherson on the conditional discharge program, put him on probation, or terminate his conditional discharge and sentence him for time behind bars.

If sentenced, Stepherson could face up to a 180-day sentence and serve up to half of that time. Possession of marijuana is a Class B misdemeanor.

He still faces charges for possession of marijuana in Marshall and Whitley counties as well as the theft charge out of St. Joseph County.

Despite the August arrest last year, Stepherson did not sit out a single game in 2016. He finished 2nd on the team in receiving.

While it was never acknowledged by Notre Dame, Stepherson was suspended for the first four games of 2017 for what sources tell NewsCenter 16 was a violation of team rules. He eventually returned to action and became one of Notre Dame’s most reliable wide receivers, catching a team high five touchdowns during the most recent football season. Stepherson started three games, catching 19 total passes for 359 yards.