After serving half of his prison sentence, Evans was eligible for release, and was released on licence on 17 October 2014.
[63][64] Following his release, the
Criminal Cases Review Commission announced that they were reviewing his conviction.
[65] In January 2015, it was reported that Evans had submitted fresh evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, to attempt to strengthen his case.
[66] In October 2015, the Criminal Cases Review Commission, following a 10-month investigation and relying on "new material which was not considered by the jury at trial", referred the case to the
Court of Appeal.
[67]
On 22 March 2016, the case was heard by the Court of Appeal.
[68] On 21 April 2016, the appeal was allowed, the conviction quashed and a retrial ordered.
[69] The Court of Appeal imposed a ban on reporting details of the legal argument.
[68] The retrial began on 4 October 2016 and on 14 October Evans was found not guilty.
[70][71] After the retrial, it could then be reported that the legal argument used in the appeal had related to the complainant's sexual history.
[72] On 11 April 2019, Evans accepted an £800,000 settlement from the legal firm which represented him in his first trial.
[73]