Former England speedster Marland Yarde considered ending his life after being falsely accused of rape.
Yarde, who made 13 appearances for England between 2013 and 2017, was accused by prostitute Sandra Ntonya of assaulting a teenage girl and subsequently arrested in 2022.
Ntonya continued to accuse Yarde of rape on social media while the investigation was taking place, which led to the player leaving the Sale Sharks for France, where he played for Bayonne.
Yarde took legal action against Ntonya, who on Wednesday received a 20-month suspended prison sentence for stalking Yarde as well as 100 hours of unpaid work, six months of mental health treatment and 15 rehabilitation activity days.
One of the reasons Ntonya avoided jail is that she has a young son to look after.
“Mr Yarde is a well-known rugby union player and he explains the impact of those repeated social media posts on him,” prosecutor Jack Troup told Manchester Crown Court.
“He reports his mental health suffering and seeking the assistance of a psychiatrist. He reports contemplating suicide as a result of being repeatedly referred to as a rapist. He left the country and went to play rugby in France [with Bayonne]. As a result he had to terminate his relationship with a number of charities in England as it was not feasible to support them.
“It had an impact on his family life. He had to live in a separate country to his daughter. He decided not to relocate her to France but for her to remain with her mother. That caused him significant difficulties.”
Troup said Yarde’s “life spiralled out of control” following the break-up of a relationship.
“He went from being a caring partner and father to someone who drank to excess. He admits he made a lot of bad choices.
“He said he paid for services of Ntonya as an escort but that they did not have sex – though that is a point of contention for Miss Ntonya.
“He says he saw her three times, and went to her house, and spent time talking to her. She cared for him, he said, and she became a distraction from his issues.”
In sentencing, judge John Potter said Ntonya had ended Yarde’s rugby career in England.
“When Mr Yarde was still under investigation you posted negative comments online and spoke again to the media about the allegations Mr Yarde then faced. So far as playing in the English leagues was concerned, his career was over and he had to move to France to continue with his profession. I understand that as a result he became ineligible to be selected for the English national team.
“You appeared to have been angered by you being arrested and acted in revenge and posted online pictures and moving images of him leaving your address and his motor vehicle when he had visited you. To make matters worse you continually posted online material which made multiple references directly or indirectly to Mr Yarde being a ‘rapist’, which was wholly untrue.
“You sent similar descriptions to Mr Yarde, to his employers Sale Sharks and to teams he was playing against. You spoke about him in an uncomplimentary fashion in video clips online which were posted by you. Some of those posts make reference to you and to a particular title that you have afforded yourself it seems as a willingness to promote a book you have written which is available online about your work in the sex industry.
“The behaviour by you towards Mr Yarde was highly abusive and damaging. The behaviour also portrays you as attention-seeking and narcissistic. The truth is that you were prepared to exploit the predicament of another for your own gain – firstly from this story to the press and secondly from selling of the book.
“Others close to Mr Yarde have also been targeted for abuse as a result of their association with him as a consequence of how you portrayed him online. He has been significantly affected by the psychological harm that he has suffered due to your behaviour.”
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
