Two Irish rugby stars and two of their friends have been found not guilty of charges of rape, indecent exposure and perverting the course of justice.

The jury of eight men and three women at Belfast Laganside court found the Ireland rugby internationals Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding not guilty of raping a woman who was 19 in 2016.

After a nine-week trial, the jury found the pair’s friend Blane McIlroy not guilty of one count of indecent exposure. The jurors also ruled that Rory Harrison was not guilty of perverting the course of justice and withholding information.



The court was filled with the families and friends of the four men and there were emotional scenes after the unanimous verdicts were announced. Outside the court the four men’s relatives and friends hugged and kissed them.

There was a delay in releasing Olding from the glass box/dock area where the men have listened to nine weeks of testimony. He was held back over clarification of legal aid that was granted to him. The other three men and their supporters waited until the procedure was over and Olding, too, was able to walk free.

The jury took three hours and 45 minutes to acquit all the men of any wrongdoing. Their lawyers said the sporting careers of Jackson and Olding had been “blighted” by false rape claims.

When Olding finally left Laganside court he released a statement that he wrote himself but was delivered by his lawyer, Paul Dougan.

Olding referred to the woman who had alleged rape in the case. After expressing gratitude for the jury finding him not guilty, the Ulster and Ireland rugby player said: “I want to acknowledge publicly that although I committed no criminal offence on 28 June 2016 I regret deeply the events of that evening.

“I want to acknowledge that the complainant went to court and gave evidence as to her perception of those events. I am sorry the hurt that was caused to the complainant. It was never my intention to cause any upset to anyone in that night. I don’t agree with her perception of events and I maintain that everything that happened that evening was consensual.”



He said he had “completely told the truth to the police and the court when asked to account for my conduct”.



The rugby player continued: “The Stuart Olding who has been portrayed in the past nine weeks of this trial is the not the real Stuart Olding. I am fiercely proud to represent my province and my country. I have worked very hard to achieve those goals. I hope to do prove myself going forward in all aspects of my life.”



Earlier Paddy Jackson spoke to reporters in central Belfast alongside his solicitor, Joe McVeigh.



With his younger sister beside him, Jackson said he wanted to thank the judge and the jury for giving him a “fair trial”. His lawyer was scathing about the Police Service of Northern Ireland investigation into the case.

McVeigh said: “It is our belief that the investigation has been characterised by the turning of a blind eye to inadequacies in the evidence of the complainant combined with the very apparent investigative bias.”



The solicitor also criticised the way the prosecution had “made much of a perceived privileged position provided by Paddy being an international rugby player”. “We say that it was this very status as a famous sportsman that drove the decision to prosecute in the first place,” he said. The lawyer revealed that several days of the trial were lost to comments being made on social media about the case.

McVeigh said: “All the lawyers have been distracted by having to man barriers against a flood of misinformed, misconceived and malicious content on the internet, particularly during the last phase of this trial and, worryingly, even at the hands of public servants who should have known better.”



The lawyer suggested that the lord chief justice, the attorney general and the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland “enter into fresh discussions with us to look at more robust mechanisms strike an effective balance between everyone’s rights but that properly secures the integrity of our criminal justice system”.



Neither Harrison nor McIlrory spoke publicly after the court case, having left with their families.



On the future of Jackson and Olding as rugby stars, the Irish Rugby Football Union and Ulster Rugby said officials would review the matter and the players would continue to be relieved of all duties until its findings were delivered.