SUNDERLAND have suspended Jack Diamond with immediate effect after the midfielder was charged with rape.

Northumbria Police have charged the 23-year-old with one count of rape and one count of sexual assault after investigating an incident that is alleged to have taken place last May.

Washington-based Diamond has spent the current season on loan from Sunderland at League One side Lincoln City, but the suspension of his contract means the loan agreement has been terminated.

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “In May last year, we received a report that a woman had been sexually assaulted inside an address in the Washington area. An investigation was immediately launched and a man was subsequently arrested.

“Jack Diamond, 23, of Fatfield, Washington, has now been charged with one count of rape and one count of sexual assault and is due to appear at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court in May.”

Diamond joined Sunderland’s academy at the age of 14, and made his senior debut for the club in an EFL Trophy game in October 2018.

He made his Black Cats league debut in a 2-0 win over Swindon Town in October 2020 and has made a total of 45 senior appearances for the club, scoring two goals.

He was a second-half substitute in Sunderland’s Papa John’s Trophy final win over Tranmere Rovers at Wembley in March 2021, and has had three previous loan spells with Harrogate Town as well as a brief period with Spennymoor Town at the start of his career.

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A Sunderland statement said: “Sunderland AFC has been notified that criminal charges have been brought against Jack Diamond by the Crown Prosecution Service.

The player has been suspended with immediate effect, pending the outcome of the judicial process, and his loan agreement at Lincoln City Football Club has also been terminated.

As this matter is subject to a legal process, the Club will not be making any further statement at this time.”

Diamond joined Lincoln last August and has made 36 senior appearances for the League One club this season, scoring eight goals.

His most recent outing came last weekend as he was a first-half substitute in Lincoln’s 2-1 league defeat at Fleetwood Town.

A Lincoln statement said: “Jack Diamond’s loan spell at City has been terminated with immediate effect. The club are unable to make any further statement at this time.”