Hardcastle’s heart problem ended his football career in his early twenties. As he struggled to accept that, he also came under suspicion for rape and sexual assault; he was ultimately exonerated of those charges in December of last year.
Hardcastle is now through with it at 25 and ready to share his experience. After years of anxiety and suffering, he feels there are lessons for others who might be in similar circumstances, and this is also his chance to share his tale in his own unique way—a type of catharsis.
Regarding his jury trial at Bolton Crown Court, he remarks, “I’ll never forget the emotions when you’re up there in court, and your life is in the hands of 12 random people.” I turned to face my family after the not guilty verdict was announced and sobbed uncontrollably for around ten minutes.
“I approached them, gave them a hug, and started crying some more. When I think about it, I can start feeling emotional. My family and I had been going through a terrible period. My mother, brother, and girlfriend were all present, sobbing uncontrollably.
Hardcastle had watched Jack Diamond, the Carlisle United player on loan from Sunderland, talk to Piers Morgan on Talk TV a few days prior to this interview about his own rape accusation and the court case that cleared him. Hardcastle recognised the value of expressing his own experience and appreciated Diamond’s candour.
“I won’t go into too much detail, but I was accused of rape and sexual assault after stuff happened on a night out,” he says. “I was aware of the events of the evening.”
According to Hardcastle, the incident occurred on a night in 2019 when he and Charley had temporarily broken up. He claims that although the incident with a young lady after a night out was consensual, Hardcastle and another man were accused as a result.
He claims, “Obviously some stuff happened, and I did admit to having sex with her.”
Hardcastle says he learned of the accusations after a game for Barrow AFC at Ebbsfleet in the National League. “The other [man] who was involved, his sister rang me – I had five missed calls from her after the game. I rang back and she said we were both being accused.
“The [police] had been to my house on the Friday looking for me. My mum and brother were there, and they didn’t want to tell me because they knew I had a game the next day. I ended up having to go to Swinton Police Station, stay the night and give a statement to next morning.
“Knowing I’d not done anything wrong…I can’t put into words what I was going through.”
Hardcastle made a further statement several months later and the period of waiting for definitive news on the case was, he says, a torment. He developed a fear of the next call, of the sight of a police car. “Any time I heard sirens, it was like, ‘Are they here for me?’ I was so scared at the time, as a young lad. I didn’t know what was going to come of it.”
Come December 2020, he was called by an officer handling the case. “I had a voicemail after training. I was bricking it. I rang him back, and he said the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] hadn’t got enough evidence to take it forward, and it was getting knocked on the head. I was told the accuser was likely to appeal but that it was rare for anything to come of that.
“I rang my mum and she was crying her eyes out down the phone. I didn’t hear anything else for maybe five months. Then everything happened with my heart.”
In early 2021 Hardcastle was wracked by the news that he had to give up his professional career in order to save his life. At 22 he was dealing with the sudden reality that he was a former footballer. This was a brutally difficult time and yet it transpired that the rape case was also far from over.
“I was in hospital, because of issues with my medication – and I got an email from my solicitor saying it was going to court,” he says. “Talk about a double whammy.”
Before this point Hardcastle had been able to use football as an escape. “I’d go into training, and would play, and that took my mind off it. It meant I’d have half a day when I didn’t think about it, but once I got home, that’s when it would be back in my head. I was just in disbelief.”
Hardcastle’s case was due to be heard soon but the Covid-19 pandemic postponed the proceedings and many others. “I had to go to a couple of court dates to show my face. At one of them the judge said it was ridiculous how long it was taking. They weren’t taking it as a priority.
“When you’ve been accused of something like that, how can it not be a priority?”
A backlog of trials meant Hardcastle had to wait, and wait. As the country emerged from lockdown, and social life could resume, he found life further taxing once news of his charges had been published.
“It was difficult when it became public, even though my family and some of my friends were aware of it,” he adds. He then says, “My girlfriends’ friends were seeing the article getting linked in group chats,” and he was back with Charley. I was also a complete mess. I was averse to leaving the house. I was reluctant to leave my neighbourhood in Atherton, where I resided. My partner was not interested in going out and answering questions about it. My sibling didn’t. For everyone, it was a difficult period.
The trial didn’t start until November of last year. “It was a terrible trial,” Hardcastle remarks. It was roughly four weeks long. It was supposed to last seven days, but it extended into a second week and a fourth week as one of the jurors was unable to attend the third week.
Even though Hardcastle was unwavering in his belief that he was innocent and the facts presented throughout the trial seemed to “all go in my favour,” he could not assume that the jury would find in his favour. “It’s important to prepare ahead of time because you never know what the solicitor and barrister will say,” the man stated.
As I’m packing my stuff at home, I notice my dog and my small child and reflect that this might be our last chance to spend time together. In the unlikely event that I was sent down, I informed my mother, father, brother, and girlfriend that I wanted them to appear in court. I desired to view them.
“I understood what I had done and hadn’t done. I emphasise that enough. However, it was merely an attempt to make that point clear to those twelve strangers. I wish I could say I felt confident, but you can’t help but have a nagging doubt. “I am aware of my innocence, but are they?”
“I was around 70 percent confident going into it. Under those circumstances, thirty is a big number.”
According to Hardcastle, it hurt to wait for the verdict. “You’re waiting for someone to announce that the judge has you ready outside the courtroom. However, in this instance, it was announced on the Tannoy that I needed to travel to Court One to get the decision. After hearing that, I turned to face my brother. I must have appeared ghostly.
“Even now, thinking about it gives me chills. If it were my worst enemy, I wouldn’t want it. It’s the worst feeling I’ve ever experienced, even surpassing my heartbreak experiences. This easily surpassed it.
The friend of Hardcastle, who was also charged, heard his findings first and was found not guilty on each of the four counts. Hardcastle’s five charges followed. “They read them all out, finding none of them guilty. The judge made statements along the lines of, “You’re free to go; I never want to see you again.” I stated, “You won’t.”
He claims that there was a momentary emotional relief as he gave his family an embrace and they all started crying. After that, he gradually came to the difficult understanding that he could go on with his life.
“It took about three or four weeks to sink in,” he claims. After that, for a while, I would get up in the morning and go get my suit without giving it a second thought. Then I would understand, ‘Why am I doing this?’
