Cryer pleads ‘not guilty’ as Twitter saga continues
Newcastle Law student, Josh Cryer, denies public order charges against him at Magistrates Court
Illustration: Emma Rawsthorne
Third-year law student Josh Cryer has denied racially abusing Stan Collymore on Twitter.
The former Intra Mural football captain appeared before Newcastle magistrates on February 14th with a public order offence after the the ex-Liverpool and Aston Villa footballer reported the incident to Staffordshire Police.
Cryer, who was in attendance with members of his family, entered a ‘not guilty’ plea, denying sending messages that were ‘grossly offensive’ in January.
The court adjourned the case, with District Judge Garland granting him unconditional bail until the case comes to trial on April 2. Cryer’s solicitor, Andrew O’Hanlon, called for an unnamed witness to attend court on that day, with the hearing expected to last around two hours.
Dressed in a blue suit, tie and white shirt, the student who is said to live on Fairfield Road in Jesmond spoke only to enter his not guilty plea and state his date of birth and address.
Television crews and photographers, from both the regional and national press, were in attendance as he arrived at the court on Market Street with his face hidden by a scarf.
He remained inside the court building for around four hours after the hearing, after which cameras from Sky Tyne followed him round Newcastle city centre as he continued to cover his face.
During the legal proceedings, the 21-year old has continued to attend lectures at the Law School. He also played for the Intra Mural side Braca-Law-Na in their 4-4 draw with rivals Henderson Hall in the Wednesday league.
The Newcastle student was charged on January 7 with two public order offences, after the complaint was passed on to Northumbria Police. However, on January 23, one of the charges was withdrawn.
He is originally from Burnley, Lancashire where his father owns a chauffeur company.
Collymore works as a pundit for talkSPORT radio, works for the charity Depression Alliance and campaigns against racism. Normally Collymore is a frequent Tweeter, however his account remained dormant on the day of the hearing.
It is questionable as to whether the ex-footballer will be attendance at the trial as the proceedings will continue into their fourth month when the case comes to trial.
Given that this guy is innocent until proven guilty, it’s invasive and unseemly that the Courier is so enthusiastic to publish photos and illustrations of him. Disappointing to see such a lack of compassion for a current student at the university.
I’d have to disagree with the comment before me. I would expect a newspaper to cover this story, whether a student paper or not. One expects university students to understand the notion of innocence until guilty.
I have to agree with Alumni, the Courier is doing it’s job of covering the stories that matter to Newcastle University students, which sadly includes this case.
Are you implying that you expect The Courier to completely ignore this case, or to back Cryer just because he’s a Newcastle student (which, if he is guilty would be rather like the Suarez saga with Liverpool backing him despite being found guilty of racism)?
Totally agree, they wouldn’t be doing their job if they just ignored something which is big news like this. Photos and illustrations are common practice for covering a news story and while his name is already in the public domain it hardly has any bearing on his anonymity.
Lack of compassion for a fellow student? Personally I’m disappointed at the lack of compassion for Stan Collymore.
If found guilty he will be rightly punished for cowardly abuse, and I agree that it is generally acceptable and commonplace for a newspaper to publish the accused’s name and an illustration. However speculating in an article about someone’s home address leaves a street-full of innocent households in the firing line for attack or abuse directed at a suspect. I can see the argument that knowing who the accused is may be in the public interest, but how does a street name add to the story?
That wasn’t a dig at Wills, just a comment about reporting in general.
Crafty Gaffer,
Just for your information, I’m not a Liverpool fan, but being “found guilty” by the FA and being found guilty by a caught of law are incomparable.
I certainly don’t object to the story being pursued and published. As a former section editor of The Courier, I understand the importance of thorough and fair reporting. However, I stand by the fact that the use of such photographs and illustrations are too invasive given that he is a current student for whom there has been no conviction thus far. I agree with the person above who pointed out the unnecessary and potentially inflammatory speculation of his address. I know that the paper strives for professionalism and consistently does a great job, but it is possible to report on a fellow student in a dignified manner without appearing biased.
P.S. I would like to point out that I do not know the student involved.