wow that's crazy.
https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/famous-irish-sports-star-rape-18386350
"The DPP gave the direction this week following concerns that the case over the complaint would not convince a jury."
two possibilities here:
1. conor paid off the girl and she accepted the second time and withdrew her statement, making the DPP case very weak. most times they will not proceed if this happens.
2. The girls testimony still stands but the case was weak and most of the stuff published about the case and in whatsapp groups was total bullshit.
Undoubtedly #1 - That Conor paid her off.
Every indication from the Gardai is that there was more than sufficient evidence (physical, video, witness statements, etc.). However, if the victim retracts their statement (because they accepted the much larger second payoff offer, after turning down the first one) then the whole case falls apart.
Conor (and his legal team) are smart enough to make the offer contingent on the victim NOT testifying, and quite possibly would require her to say it was "consensual" as a condition of the payoff.
A rape case is:
- REALLY hard to convict someone on without the victim's cooperation
- MONUMENTALLY difficult to get a conviction without the victim's cooperation unless there's direct video evidence of the actual rape
- IMPOSSIBLE to convict when the victim recants and there's no video inside the hotel room of the rape occurring.
IMO here's what happened:
Conor raped her. (His long history of breaking the law, his complete lack of impulse control, drug use, extra-martial sex, etc. and his well documented downward spiral from 2016 through the end of 2019?)
Conor tried to pay her off which she turned down. However, as the investigation progressed and the DPP continued to put their case together Conor upped his offer and she took it, thus ending any chances of a conviction.
Why'd she take offer #2 when she turned down the first offer? Because not only was it for much more money, but the victim decided not to go through multiple trials (the criminal case where she'd absolutely have to testify and be cross-examined, and then the civil suit that might have required her testifying a second time). So, rather than spend the next 2-3 years in courtrooms, she took the quick money now so that she, her husband, and their child could go on with their lives.
As for the more recent sexual assault allegation against Conor (forced blowie in a car outside a club), I'm not sure if that's real of a money grab attempt. I'd like to think Conor learned his lesson after the first one, but then rumors have swirled around for years that there were more incidents going way back to before he became famous. And of course in between the sexual assaults Conor did indeed commit multiple physical assaults (old man punching and phone stomping - both caught on video and Conor plead guilty to once it became apparent he was going to be unable to deny them). So while I think he's certainly capable of the second sexual assault, there appears to be a real lack of evidence in that case to make any conclusions.
TL/DR: Conor is a great self-promoter, and a pretty decent fighter, but an absolutely shit human being.