Two people have been quizzed by police for allegedly revealing the identity of the woman who said she was raped by two Irish rugby stars.
The pair were interviewed by officers in Northern Ireland for allegedly announcing the complainant’s name on social media.
She had claimed that Ireland rugby players Paddy Jackson, 26, and Stuart Olding, 25, sexually assaulted her but the pair were cleared following a nine-week trial.
And her name was said to have appeared in a number of social media posts which breaches her right to anonymity and is considered an offence in Ireland and the UK.
Paddy Jackson, 26, (left) and Stuart Olding, 25, (right) were accused of raping the woman at a party back at Jackson’s home and were both cleared yesterday
Jackson, who played 25 times for Ireland, was photographed leaving Belfast Crown Court after being cleared of rape
Hundreds of #IBelieveHer campaigners gathered on O’Connell Street in Dublin on Thursday afternoon after two rugby stars were cleared of rape
A picture which was believed to be the woman involved in the high-profile was also alleged to have been sent around on WhatsApp, reports the Irish Independent.
The two people have been questioned by the Police Service of Northern Ireland who said they were interviewed in relation to an offence under Section 5 of the UK’s Sexual Offences Amendment Act 1992.
Two files have been sent to the North’s Public Prosecutions Service for consideration.
Social media pages Twitter and Facebook have said they will assist the police in cases similar to this in the past.
The offence has taken place in the UK before and people were fined for revealing the name of the complainant involved in the Ched Evans rape trial.
And it has now emerged that a separate investigation has been launched and police are looking into allegations that one of the jurors who sat on the trial has been communicating about the case on social media
A PSNI spokesman told MailOnline: ‘There is an ongoing police investigation and two people have been interviewed in relation to an offence under section five of the Sexual Offences Amendment Act 1992.
‘Two Files have been forwarded to the Public Prosecution Service for consideration.’
In relation to the juror, the spokesman added: ‘We are aware of comments made on a social media platform.’
After Jackson was cleared on Wednesday, his solicitor Joe McVeigh referred to the ‘vile commentary’ on social media throughout the trial.
A section of the crowd at the #IBelieveHer solidarity demonstration at The Spire in Dublin
Solidarity: Karen Kelly and her brother from Conor traveled from Cabra West on the outskirts of Dublin to take part in the demonstration
He said the posts ‘polluted the sphere of public discourse and raised real concerns about the integrity of the trial process’.
Mr McVeigh said: ‘To that end we want to thank the learned trial Judge Patricia Smyth for her management of this trial in the face of an onslaught of toxic contempt, particularly on Twitter.
‘Several days of this trial were lost due to problems thrown up by the intrusive infection of the process by social media.
‘All the lawyers have been distracted by having to man the barriers against the 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.
‘There’s no reason to believe that this problem will not worsen.
Rory Harrison, 25, (left, pictured today) and Blane McIlory (right, pictured today) were also cleared
Jackson (pictured playing for Ireland) has not played at club or national level since he was charged in July last year
‘To that end, we invite the office of the Lord Chief Justice, the Attorney General, and the Public Prosecution Service, to enter into fresh discussions with us to look at more robust mechanisms that can strike an effective balance between everyone’s rights, but that properly secure the integrity of our criminal justice system.’
It comes after thousands of people took to the streets in protest after the players were cleared of rape.
The court heard the pair were in a WhatsApp group which discussed having a ‘spit roast’ and said sex with the woman was ‘like a merry-go-round’.
But just hours after they were cleared, in response to the wider issues raised by the case and in support of the woman and others in a similar position, thousands of people tweeted #IBelieveHer.
The hashtag was trending in the UK, Ireland and worldwide and on Thursday a rally outside the Laganside courthouse took place along with others in Derry, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Dublin. Tonight a much smaller group of protesters have gathered in Marble Arch in London.
Both Jackson and Olding were cleared alongside their friend Rory Harrison, 25 – who denied perverting the course of justice and withholding information.
Another friend Blane McIlroy, 26, was accused of one count of exposure but the four defendants were cleared of all charges relating to the alleged incident in June 2016.