Sunderland’s Jack Diamond makes a plea for change to the current court system after being cleared of rape and sexual assault.
The 23 year old midfielder has spoken for the first time since he discovered his fate at Newcastle Crown Court on Monday afternoon.
He was cleared of raping a woman that he met with on Tinder, and now he has called for those accused of sex attacks to be given the same anonymity as their accusers before conviction, as per MailOnline.
Sunderland footballer Jack Diamond, 23, calls for accused sex attackers to be given anonymity before conviction – after he was cleared of raping Tinder date https://t.co/4IyIJAbPoV pic.twitter.com/ZqAUEo4ryh
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) January 9, 2024
Newcastle Crown Court were told that the female’s Dad made the complaint to police and that at first she had asked him not to do so, only for the problem to be worsen when the complainant had given her first account to police the following month, with her ‘narrative developing,’ according to Mr Diamond’s counsel.
Jack Diamond had his head in his hand when told of the news, and now, giving his first interview with MailOnline from his family’s home in Washington, Tyne and Wear, he had now said there is ‘something wrong’ with a court system which allows those accused of rape to be identified before conviction.
He stated: ‘Obviously I didn’t get my say until it had all come out. There is definitely something wrong with the way that it is. What the solution to that is, nobody really knows at the moment.’ He declined to comment further.
Upon leaving court, Jack said: ‘I have today been acquitted of all charges at Newcastle Crown Court. I have always maintained my innocence and today marks my total exoneration underlined by the jury reaching its verdict in seven minutes.
‘I am grateful to the jury for considering the evidence carefully and for reaching what is the correct conclusion. I always said I was looking into clearing my name in court.
‘The last 18 months have been hugely challenging.’
‘I would like to thank my legal team Ms Laws KC, Mr Darbyshire and the entire team at Blackfords for their dedication and skill.
‘I would also like to thank all the friends and family who have been with me during this time.
‘I now look forward to resuming my career with the assistance of Freddie Akehurst at Evolve Talent Group who has been instrumental in carrying me through this testing period.’
Jack Diamond statement from Instagram below 👇#WeAreImps | #Imps pic.twitter.com/oclGcfoT2r
— Imps Focus (@ImpsFocus) January 8, 2024
Jack gave evidence last week, in which he told jurors that said he met the complainant on Tinder, said he was not looking for a serious relationship or a girlfriend, yet she wanted ‘to do more relationship stuff’. She went to his then home, and he hoped they could have sex, but he says she turned up wearing PJs and said it was hot and took the bottoms off.
He told the court: ‘There was some chit chat and we started kissing and cuddling and touching each other. Things started getting a bit more heated and she mounted me, got on top of me.’
Jack said that he didn’t think it was a good idea to have sex and that she was having a ‘strop’ before turned away from his body.
He said he then ‘initiated it again’ before she pushed his hand away and said no. Jack Diamond said he thought she was saying no as she was ‘in a huff.’ He adds that they then kissed and he got on top of her and she wrapped her legs around him, with Jack telling court that she said: ‘I think the moment has gone’.
He said they both turned away from each other, then he recalls possibly going to the toilet, and just after that, the complainant said ‘I think I’m going to leave’.
His barrister, Eleanor Laws KC, questioned: ‘Did you do anything to the complainant without her consent?’
He replied: ‘Absolutely not.’ with Miss Laws asking: ‘Would you do that?’ Jack replied: ‘No.’
He said that he is regretful about his ‘attitude and immaturity towards relationships and blindness to the way she actually felt’.
Jack said in court that he didn’t rape her, and had not sexually assaulted her.
Giving evidence, the alleged victim said she ‘didn’t like’ Jack and had ‘asked him to show a little bit of respect’.
She says she hadn’t had sex with him since February 2023, which is when she started taking a type of medication which could lead to foetal abnormalities, and she also wasn’t on the contraceptive pill at the time.
Jack’s barrister said the female had climbed on top of the footballer in bed ‘as if to start sexual activity’, adding: ‘It was him at that point (who) said he didn’t think it was a good idea.’
But she replied: ‘No, I never left the position I was in’.
Laws ended her speech, saying that the situation ‘snowball’ after she spoke to her Dad the following night in May 2023.
Laws says Jack was 19 and coming out of a long-term relationship when he first met the woman, and accepted he made mistakes: ‘The biggest one was taking her at her word when she maintained all she wanted from him was sex,’ adding the female ‘wanted more from him than he wanted to give’.
Laws adds that Jack Diamond was ‘not a predatory arrogant man’ or ‘some entitled footballer who felt the world owed him everything’, with court hearing the female then decided to leave his place and then told a friend that Jack had ‘touched her up’, with the friend telling her to talk to her parents about it.
The female’s Dad got in contact with the police in the early hours of the 8th of May, she didn’t want this to happen, but the allegation immediately became ‘extremely serious’, leading to the arrest of Jack and was soon interviewed.
Laws said the woman didn’t give her full account to police until a month later after which her ‘narrative’ had ‘developed’.
Twitter users reacted after Sunderland’s Jack Diamond makes a plea for a change to the court system regarding anonymity before conviction after being cleared of rape…
@RossMatthewGat3: Cannot imagine as a Man, the trauma a situation like this will cause the gentleman who has been cleared of rape and sexual assault, Pleased to hear he can get on…
@Newbigginlad: Everyone knows the Tyne/Wear rivalry can stoop to ultimate lows for browny points over each other, but Id like to say I’m glad to hear Jack Diamond has been cleared of rape/sexual assault.
The frightening thing is this lads career has been scrutinised and put on hold for nothing
@petercrann79: get him out on loan to give the lad a chance to get some first team football and then give the lad a shot in the first team next season
@blackcatlad_9: Alright support the lad then, lost two years of his career just to be found not guilty he’s probably feeling rubbish about the whole thing
@TWilko646564: I’m an NUFC fan & I hope he can rebuild his life & career. I’ve done jury duty & if they only took 7 minutes to find him innocent then there was never a case to answer & he shouldn’t have been put through hell.
@HebdenGail: Hope Jack can put this all behind him and get the support he needs, Trusting people will be hard for him now.. 🙏 come back stronger and wiser..
@BarryPaton: Ridiculous waste of time, money & resources. 7 minutes to aquit him!
@dcsurveyor: Thanks for sticking by the lad, given the way people jump to condemn it’s refreshing to see that the clubs actually followed protocol, innocent until proven guilty
@Hemmerz_: So Jack Diamond is named and shamed, loses 18 months of his life and will likely never clear his name. It took 7 minutes for a not guilty verdict. The woman who ruined his life?? Cannot be named
@sjm_mcmxc: Hope Jack Diamond can resume his career at a decent level. 15 months is a long time to have that hanging over you, hopefully he gets the help and support needed.
@Staceywestblog: 15 minutes it took to clear Jack Diamond. I hope he can now resume his career and move forward from this, which, having followed the case, doesn’t sound like it should ever have got to court
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