I CANNOT chart the sequence of distasteful events that took place in the hotel that night, but I do know the verdict of the court: Ched Evans was found guilty of rape.

Was it really rape, or was it rough, drunken sex? Certainly there have been accusations, counter accusations and denials. But let us accept the decision of the court and believe the worst: that Evans committed rape, a despicable crime. He has served time for the offence, so what should happen now?

Last Friday, a Maltese football club called Hibernians said they wanted to sign the Wales international striker on a deal until the end of the season. But a Ministry of Justice (MOJ) spokesperson said strict conditions imposed on sex offenders "effectively rules out working abroad". The spokesperson added: "We are determined to have one of the toughest regimes in the world for managing sex offenders, to stop them reoffending and to protect victims.”

So is Evans to be denied the chance ever again to make his living by means of his trade, playing football? If so, then I should describe this as a cruel and unusual punishment and one that lacks all justice. Rape is a horrible offence, but there are worse crimes – murder, for example.

And yet convicted murderers – the killers of James Bulger for instance – having served their sentence have been released and even given new identities.

As I write, it looks as if his enemies might have succeeded in preventing him from joining Oldham Athletic.

Is the MOJ saying that there is something about Evans which makes him especially irredeemable?

Evans is already effectually forbidden to ply his trade in Britain. It now looks as if he has been handed a worldwide ban. Evans is 26. Is the ban for life? In any case footballers’ careers are short and Evans has only about nine years left during which he might hope to compete at the highest level.

Let us suppose that, instead of being a rapist and a professional footballer, Evans was a rapist bricklayer or a shop assistant at Tesco. Would it be right to forbid him to return to either of those jobs? Where is mercy and compassion in this case?

The authorities are forever telling us that the purpose of prison is not merely to punish offenders but their rehabilitation. Is Evans to be regarded as the only offender in the country who is beyond redemption?

I suggest that the reason for this mess is all in the connection between celebrity and sex. Society is obsessed with sex and our popular culture is sodden with it. Children are sexualised – not least by the primary school curriculum – from the earliest age. And I begin to wonder if there will ever be a celebrity anywhere who does not get accused of molesting children.

We suffer from excessive prurience – dirty-mindedness, if you like. We have this perverted interest not just in the competence of the male news presenter or the TV weather girl, but we enquire as to what they get up to in bed. It’s nothing to do with us. But the ridiculous celebrity culture has abolished the distinction between what’s public and what’s private. We used to refer to “private parts” didn’t we? Now private parts seem to have become public property and there is the narcissistic fashion for taking photos of one’s own bits and then posting them on social media sites.

St Augustine comes to mind: “Decency is veiled from sight; indecency is exposed to view. Scenes of evil attract packed audiences; good words scarcely find any listeners. It is as if purity should provoke a blush and corruption give grounds for pride.”