After a trial that dominated the news, the accused were all found not guilty. But the case had tapped into a deeper rage that has not died down. T he verdicts were unanimous and came swiftly. After a trial that had lasted nine weeks, with four defendants and multiple charges, the jury deliberated for just under four hours. The Ireland rugby player Paddy Jackson was found not guilty of rape and not guilty of assault. His team mate Stuart Olding was found not guilty of rape. Their friend Blane McIlroy was found not guilty of exposure.
The fourth man, their friend Rory Harrison, was found not guilty of concealing evidence and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Outside the court building on the River Lagan, the crowd pressed in, cameraphones aloft, as the men emerged.
The trial had dominated the news in Ireland. The evidence had been sexually explicit, and had been debated heatedly, and in great detail, at bus stops, in hairdressers, shops and bars and around dinner tables.
The MeToo movement was in full flow, and women from all over the island of Ireland were telling painful stories of sexual humiliations at the hands of men. Men and women were appalled by the sexist attitudes the young men displayed in private social media conversations that had been aired in evidence.
Others focused their anger on the judicial process. The complainant had to spend eight days in the witness box, being cross-examined by four sets of barristers, all men. Her bloodied thong was passed to the jury for examination. The case should never have got to court, they said. They felt it was unjust that the defendants were named and photographed — almost every day, their photographs were displayed alongside shocking headlines in the papers, while film of them arriving at court with their families was shown on television.
