Rapist footballers ‘tried to buy victim’s silence’ with £115,000 payout

David Goodwillie in action for Dundee United in August 2013 (Getty)

The woman who brought a successful civil action against two footballers she accused of raping her has said she has been “vindicated” by the decision.

Denise Clair took the action after prosecutors failed to take David Goodwillie and his former Dundee United teammate, David Robertson, to court.

The men have now been ordered to pay £100,000 in compensation to her, after a judge ruled they raped her in Armadale, West Lothian, in January 2011.

Ms Clair, who previously waived her right to anonymity, was left “devastated, upset and confused” when she was told the men would not be prosecuted.

Goodwillie, currently with Plymouth Argyle, had been accused of serious sexual assault, but the charge was dropped in July that year.

Robertson was also questioned in connection with the incident.

Ms Clair had originally sought £500,000 in compensation but damages of £100,000 were agreed in the civil action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

She told The Sunday Post she was initially offered £40,000 plus expenses, and then £50,000 plus expenses, not to proceed with her action.

The 30-year-old mother added: “There was a pre-trial meeting of the advocates in Edinburgh on 21 September. An increased offer on behalf of both men of £115,000, including expenses, was made. Again, I refused.

“Lord Armstrong awarded me £100,000 – less than the players wanted to buy me off with – and most of it will be swallowed up by legal costs. I don’t mind though. All that matters is that I am vindicated.

“I wanted the truth to emerge and no amount of money would have bought my silence or made up for the suffering I, and my family, endured.”

She insisted: “I would never have accepted anything out of court. I was never for sale.”

In his ruling on the case Lord Armstrong said that having “carefully examined and scrutinised the whole evidence” he found that the evidence for Ms Clair, the pursuer, was “cogent, persuasive and compelling”.

He said: “In the result, therefore, I find that in the early hours of Sunday 2 January 2011, at the flat in Greig Crescent, Armadale, both defenders took advantage of the pursuer when she was vulnerable through an excessive intake of alcohol and, because her cognitive functioning and decision-making processes were so impaired, was incapable of giving meaningful consent; and that they each raped her.”

After the judgement on Tuesday, Plymouth Argyle, and Robertson's current club Cowdenbeath, in Scotland, said the players would not be considered for selection while they examine the ruling.