Man Found Not Guilty of Rape After Four-Hour Jury Deliberation
A man who had been on trial for rape has been found not guilty following verdict by a mixed jury that deliberated for approximately four hours.
The trial, which lasted several days in the High Court, centred on conflicting accounts of an incident that reportedly occurred on March 30, 2020.
The female complainant told the court that she had gone out for dinner and drinks with friends and is said to have become intoxicated. She alleged that while resting in the back seat of a vehicle, she felt someone touching her inappropriately.
Testimony from another woman who was present in the vehicle at the time, the accused’s girlfriend, supported his version of events. She stated that she had been awake and alert during the drive and saw no such interaction occur.
It was also alleged that later that evening, while at a house, the complainant and the accused had a sexual encounter. The prosecution argued that the act was non-consensual, while the defence insisted it was consensual.
During cross-examination, inconsistencies were highlighted in the complainant’s statements, including discrepancies regarding the timing of a text message she claimed to have sent to her boyfriend. The defence suggested that the message’s timing could indicate that the accused had been “set up.”
In his closing argument, defence counsel Wendel Alexander urged the jury to consider the reliability of the complainant’s account, quoting from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre: “Deceit is the worst fault of a child.”
After reviewing the evidence, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty to a charge of rape and serious indecency.
This story was first published by Antigua News on : antigua.news/2025/10/07/man-found-not-guilty-of-rape-after-four-hour-jury-deliberation. © 2025 Antigua News. Republication without permission is not allowed.
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Comments (7)
Paulette October 7, 2025, 7:05 PM
Apex Jones October 7, 2025, 7:49 PM
Riley October 7, 2025, 9:15 PM
NotAmused October 8, 2025, 10:13 AM
Tromos October 7, 2025, 9:27 PM
Was raped too October 7, 2025, 9:49 PM
Informed citizen October 7, 2025, 9:51 PM