The court found an inconsistency in Ryan’s evidence over whether he had grabbed or only touched Ms Gordon’s wrists. He told the court he had been misled by police.
His lawyers argued that the Crown Court judge who declined to refer the case had wrongly drawn an adverse inference from his police interview.
Rejecting that argument, the two High Court judges said the Crown Court’s task had been to weigh the competing accounts given by Gordon and Ryan.
They said: “In doing so, it was entitled to rely on the inconsistency between Mr Ryan’s account in interview, which coincided with Ms Gordon’s allegation that he had grabbed her wrists, and the account he gave in evidence.
“The essential reasoning of the court was that it believed Ms Gordon, who had been sober at the time and who was a consistent and compelling witness, and they disbelieved Mr Ryan who had been drunk at the time and had been inconsistent.”
The judges found no error in the decision not to refer the case to the High Court. Ryan will now return to court to be sentenced.
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