A Donegal man accused of falsely imprisoning and raping his ex-girlfriend, has been found NOT GUILTY after a unanimous verdict was returned by the jury at the Central Criminal Court earlier this afternoon.
Central Criminal Court in Dublin.
The jury which contained six men and six women, returned a unanimous NOT GUILTY verdict on the rape and false imprisonment counts after an exhausting six hours of deliberations.
Today marked day five of what was described as an extremely sensitive and complex legal trial.
The thirty year old was accused of falsely imprisoning and raping the woman at her home in the early hours of April 6, 2011.
He had pleaded NOT GUILTY to both those charges, but pleaded GUILTY to criminal damage by altering her Facebook settings on the same date.
The Donegal man, who can’t be named for legal reasons will be sentenced later this month for the criminal damage of his ex-girlfriend’s Facebook page.
The court were told that the man accessed his ex-girlfriend’s Facebook account and posted an insulting status purporting to be her.
Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan thanked the members of the jury for their diligence, and the careful manner with which they dealt with the trial.
Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan remanded the man on continuing bail until his sentence on June 30.