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Decision to Charge

Once the Police have completed their investigations, they will refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service for advice on how to proceed. We will then make a decision on whether a suspect should be charged, and what that charge should be.

Find out more about how we decide whether to charge a suspect

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Sexual Offences

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 updated the law, much of which dated back to 1956.

The main provisions of the Act include the following:

  • Rape is widened to include oral penetration
  • Significant changes to the issue of consent
  • Specific offences relating to children under 13, 16 and 18
  • Offences to protect vulnerable persons with a mental disorder
  • Other miscellaneous offences
  • Strengthening the notification requirements and providing new civil preventative orders

Find out more about how we prosecute sexual offences

Home » News Centre » Press Releases » CPS decision on Jonathan Evans rape allegation

CPS decision on Jonathan Evans rape allegation

14/03/2008

Greater Manchester Crown Prosecution Service has decided there is insufficient evidence to charge footballer Jonathan Evans, accused of rape following a party at the Great John Street Hotel in Manchester in December 2007.

Carol Jackson, Head of the Rape and Family Abuse Team at City of Manchester CPS said: "We take any allegation of rape extremely seriously and all rape cases are reviewed by specialist prosecutors. After carefully examining the evidence in this case, we have decided that there is not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction".

All concerned parties have been notified of this decision.

  1. At the time of his arrest, Jonathan Evans played for Manchester United Reserves and Northern Ireland.
  2. Media enquiries to CPS Press Office on 020 7796 8180.
  3. The Crown Prosecution Service is the Government Department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. It is responsible for:
    • Advising the police and reviewing the evidence on cases for possible prosecution;
    • Deciding the charge where the decision is to prosecute;
    • Preparing cases for court;
    • Presentation of cases at court;

    The CPS consists of 42 Areas in total, each headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP). A telephone service, CPS Direct, provides out-of-hours advice and decisions to police officers across England and Wales. The CPS employs around 8,400 people and prosecuted 1,091,250 cases with an overall conviction rate of 83.7% in 2006-2007. Further information can be found on this website.