Denise Clair claimed David Goodwillie and David Robertson made three separate offers for her to drop her civil case
Woman raped by two footballers reveals they ‘tried to buy my silence for £115k’ before landmark court victory. Denise Clair says her attackers, both ex-Dundee United teammates, offered to pay her if she dropped lawsuit.
TWO footballers branded rapists by a judge tried to buy their victim’s silence with three separate offers of money, she revealed today.Denise Clair told how David Goodwillie and former Dundee Utd teammate David Robertson promised her up to £115,000 if she dropped her landmark civil court case against them.
Goodwillie and his ex-Dundee United teammate were told to pay Denise £100,000 in damages in last week’s ruling
David Robertson and his ex-Dundee United teammate were told to pay £100,000 in damages
And she claimed that when she snubbed the offer, Plymouth star Goodwillie’s lawyers tried to have her legal aid cut so she’d been too cash-strapped to continue.But Denise said she rejected the approaches – with the last one coming just weeks before she launched her civl case at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.The mum – who was awarded £100,000 in damages last week – said : “They tried to buy me off – not the action of men who still claim they did nothing wrong.
“And then, when they couldn’t, their lawyers tried to stop my legal aid to stop the case going ahead.
Goodwillie and Robertson (circled) played for Dundee United at the time
“Mercifully they failed. The three offers made to settle would all have involved me keeping quiet – it was their way of trying to gag me.”Denise said she sued the pair after the Crown Office in Scotland refused to prosecute them.She maintained they had raped her in an empy house in West Lothian in January 2011 after she blacked out following a boozy night on the town.
Judge Lord Armstrong ruled in her favour – rejecting Goodwillie and Robertson’s claims that she agreed to sex.
Lord Armstrong slammed the evidence of both Goodwillie and Robertson in his ruling
He said: “I find the evidence of the pursuer to be cogent, persuasive and compelling.”The hearing heard how the men took advantage of Denise after they told a pub bouncer they were takeing her home to her mother.
Goodwillie, 27, and Robertson, 30 – now with Cowdenbeath – have always protested their innocence.They have been frozen out by their clubs until bosses read the full report.But Denise told the Sunday Post: “It was never about money. Truth doesn’t have a price.
“It was about exposing them for who they are.”She added: “Now it’s over people should know the full trust about what was going on behind the scenes – and people can make up their own minds.
“Do innocent men who say they’ve done nothing wrong offer £115,000 to settle a case in private?”Denise said she received the first offer in 2015. Then in July last year Goodwillie’s legal team offered her £50,000 including her legal expenses if she dropped the case.
Save
Save
