Rape conviction overturned for former Premier League player

Rape conviction overturned for former Premier League player

Published Apr. 21, 2016 7:12 a.m. ET

LONDON (AP) A British court has overturned the rape conviction of former Premier League player Ched Evans and ordered a new trial.

The decision was announced Thursday by the Court of Appeal in London.

Evans, a former Sheffield United and Wales striker, was in the packed London courtroom with his girlfriend when the verdict was read out.

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The 27-year-old Evans was convicted in April 2012 of raping a 19-year-old woman at a hotel in Rhyl, north Wales.

He was released from prison last year after serving half of his five-year sentence.

Evans had always maintained his innocence and took his case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

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