Sunderland footballer Jack Diamond cleared of raping woman he met on Tinder

8 January 2024, 16:24 | Updated: 8 January 2024, 16:25

Jack Diamond
Jack Diamond. Picture: Getty

By Kit Heren

Sunderland footballer Jack Diamond has been found not guilty of raping a woman with whom he was "friends with benefits".

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Diamond, 23, a winger with the Championship club, had denied raping and sexually assaulting the woman at his home in Fatfield, Washington, on May 7 last year.

He claimed all sexual contact had been consensual, and his lawyer said he had endured a "nightmare" over the past eighteen months.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the two had had a sexual relationship since they matched on the dating app Tinder in 2019.

The two had an on-off relationship which was mostly sexual.

Read more: Sunderland footballer Jack Diamond ‘raped woman he met on dating app’ after 'promising just to cuddle'

Read more: Footballer, 25, charged with rape of woman and is set to appear in court next month

Jack Diamond
Jack Diamond. Picture: Getty

The unnamed woman went to his house "for a cuddle" on May 7. She claimed that he had forced himself on her during this encounter.

Diamond said that the encounter was consensual, and that he had stopped touching her when she asked him to.

His lawyers said that the woman had developed romantic feelings for the footballer and was upset that he didn't want to make the relationship more serious.

Eleanor Laws KC said that Diamond had been suspended by Sunderland and had a loan spell with Lincoln City cancelled after the accusation.

The jury took about 15 minutes to reach its decision.

In her closing speech, Ms Laws, defending Diamond, said he was "not the entitled, arrogant footballer who thought the world owed him everything, but a 19-year-old man (when he first met the complainant) who made mistakes."

She told jurors: "He is not on trial for being immature, he is not on trial for making mistakes, he is not on trial for misreading the signals about whether he had hurt someone."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Breaking
The scene on Tuesday

Armed police and ambulances rush to 'car accident' near Somerset House in central London

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have reportedly shared their first phone call since the election.

US ‘could recognise Crimea as Russian in peace deal’ as Trump to hold ceasefire talks with Putin

Paul Young and his wife Lorna had been on holiday in Santorini when the fall happened

Paul Young rushed into intensive care after horror fall on luxury Greek holiday

Owen Cooper

Adolescence star Owen Cooper, 15, reveals iconic role he wants to play and how his friends reacted Netflix drama

Israel launched a wave of strikes on Gaza last night - the largest attack since the January ceasefire

'Greatest fear realised': Families of Israeli hostages slam Netanyahu as Gaza strikes put captives 'at grave risk'

A group picture of all the researchers – from various science projects -- at the South African research station, SANAE IV, Antar

Revealed: Why Antarctic scientist 'snapped' on remote base as team begs for rescue after 'assaults and death threats'

Rescue teams at work after the plane crashed into the sea, on Roatan island, Honduras

Plane crash kills seven including popular music star after jet goes down off Honduras coast

The NHS watchdog has called for overweight patients to be weighed each year.

Overweight patients should be weighed every year so doctors can monitor them, says NHS watchdog

Pat McFadden

Pat McFadden defends changes to welfare system as he insists Cabinet 'united' behind plans - despite backlash

Driving test rules have changed

Warning over new rules for driving tests, as ministers push to slash waiting times

Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa Portrait

Fresh twist in death of Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy as it emerges she called doctors a day after police say she died

Exclusive
Civil servants are having their credit cards frozen

'We need to treat taxpayer money with respect': Ministers freeze civil service credit cards after spending quadruples

Exclusive
Part of the River Trent had 50 times the bacteria of safe swimming water

'There's something wrong with the water': Bacteria in UK river 50 times higher than safe swimming levels

The crash occurred on Friday night, near Shifnal, and involved a silver Audi A1

Third teenager dies after horror crash in West Midlands as one left fighting for life

King Charles III And Queen Camilla

King and Queen set to meet Pope next month despite pontiff's ill health

This image taken from NASA video shows the SpaceX capsule carrying NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague.

NASA astronauts 'stranded' in space for months begin journey back to Earth in SpaceX Dragon capsule