Youth not guilty of rape
Found innocent of all charges after four-day trial.
AN EAST Devon youth has been found not guilty of rape and sexual assaults against a teenage girl.
The 17-year-old maintained his innocence from the start.
Exeter Crown Court heard during a four-day trial of how the pair, both 16 at the time, had gone to look for the girl’s tobacco when the alleged offences took place.
But, in mitigation, Mary McCarthy said the girl had been ‘drunk and emotional’ and had acted in a way she later regretted.
She said: “It was a drunken girl, who probably regretted it soon after, but she acted very promiscuously.”
The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, initially denied anything sexual had happened in August last year.
Most Read
- 1 Bestiality video found on jailed drug dealer's phone
- 2 'Graffiti vandals' target Honiton skate park
- 3 Motorcyclist dies after crash on A35 near Axminster
- 4 Taxidermy alligator set to go under the hammer in Honiton
- 5 Drivers advised to plan journeys as A35 landslip work begins
- 6 Devon's newest MP raises issue of rural fuel duty in parliament
- 7 Serious accident closes A35 in both directions
- 8 Delays on Sidmouth road for Devon County Show
- 9 50 years since Ugandan Asians were resettled in Honiton
- 10 Plan for 18-METRE 5G mast in Honiton submitted
Miss McCarthy said the youth was of previous good character and the fact he did not admit any sexual acts initially was a reflection of his age.
She said: “Only two people know what happened in that garden and we need to be sure to convict.”
The youth told police he had seen a ‘green light’ because the girl, who had been drinking cider, was vulnerable. He said he had comforted her because she was upset and she gave him a love bite.
The jury returned a not guilty verdict on all counts.