A man was yesterday acquitted by majority verdicts on three counts of rape.
Mervin Nurse, it was alleged, sexually penetrated the woman without her consent on July 10th, 2015.
Later that said year, on September 24th and September 25th, he was alleged to have once again committed the crime.
A 12-member jury announced its verdicts on the indictments late yesterday afternoon, after about three hours of deliberations.
On the first and third rape counts, the former accused was acquitted by a proportion of 11 to 1.
Meanwhile, on the second count he was found not guilty of raping the woman by a proportion of 10 to 2.
Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, who presided over the in-camera trial at the Sexual Offences Court, told the visibly-relieved Nurse that he needed to see his acquittal as a blessing and an opportunity to pull himself together.
Noting that defence attorney Maxwell McKay was perhaps the only person who could give the young man sound advice, the judge urged counsel to so do, while noting that there is much need for such guidance.
She called upon the lawyer to provide the man with mature advice and not to view his counsel to him as having ended with the conclusion of the trial.
To this admonition, the attorney nodded in agreement with the court.
The state was represented by Prosecutors Narissa Leander, Tiffini Lyken and Abigail Gibbs.
