A 67-YEAR-OLD man accused of raping a woman while she was asleep has been found not guilty.
After two and half hours of deliberation, a Royal Court jury of five men and seven women unanimously acquitted Thomas Quinn of a single charge of rape.
There were cheers and sighs of relief from Mr Quinn’s friends and relatives in the public gallery as the verdict was announced.
During a three-day trial the alleged victim claimed that Mr Quinn had taken her back to his flat when she was extremely drunk and in no state to consent to sex, and had raped her while she was sleeping.
She reported the alleged rape to the police the following day and Mr Quinn was arrested.
An examination at Dewberry House showed she had some cuts and bruises to her body but there was no evidence that Mr Quinn had caused them, the court heard.
Mr Quinn admitted that he had met the women in Kitty O’Shea’s pub and had invited her back to his flat and CCTV footage showed them entering the property. He said the woman had been tipsy but coherent and steady on her feet and the physical contact between them had been consensual.
He denied that they had had full sexual intercourse and said that if she had wanted to leave he would have immediately phoned for a taxi.
