The court found an inconsistency in Ryan’s testimony as to whether he grabbed Ms. Gordon’s wrists or only touched them. He told the court that the police had misled him.
His lawyers argued that the Crown Court judge who refused to refer the case had wrongly drawn an adverse inference from his police interview.
Rejecting this argument, two High Court judges said the Crown Court’s task was to weigh the competing versions presented by Gordon and Ryan.
They said: “In doing so, he was entitled to rely on the discrepancy between Mr Ryan’s account in the interview, which matched Ms Gordon’s allegation that he grabbed her wrists, and the account he gave in evidence.
“The court’s core argument was that it believed Ms. Gordon, who was sober at the time and who was a consistent and convincing witness, and they did not believe Mr. Ryan, who was drunk at the time and was inconsistent.”
The judges found no error in the decision not to take the case to the High Court. Ryan will now return to court for sentencing.
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