A protest in Dublin, in support of the woman at the centre of the 'Belfast rape case'. Photo: Tom Honan/PA Wire/PA Images. All rights reserved.The long legal drama that became known as the ‘Belfast rape case’ concluded on Wednesday 28 March with the acquittal of four young men. Rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding were cleared of rape charges; their friend Blane McIlroy was cleared of exposure, and friend Rory Harrison was cleared of perverting the course of justice and withholding information. Jackson was also cleared of sexual assault.
The 11-person jury (eight men, three women) deliberated for three hours and 45 minutes before coming to unanimous ‘not-guilty’ verdicts.
This case and the jury’s decision have come at a time of historic mobilisation for the rights of women in the region – and in the days after the verdicts thousands of people took part in protests supporting the complainant, and calling for changes in how rape cases are prosecuted, in Belfast, Dublin, Derry and Cork.
