It took a five-man, four-woman jury just over two hours Wednesday to bring back a unanimous not guilty verdict in the rape trial of Dennis Damien Forbes.
The 28-year-old was on trial in the Supreme Court for the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl back on July 4, 2006.
The teen told the court on Monday when the trial began before Justice Hartman Longley that Forbes was her cousin’s ex-boyfriend’s brother and she had known him for about six months.
The incident was alleged to have taken place at his home one Tuesday afternoon when, the teen told the court, Forbes used violence, held her hand and choked her before having sexual intercourse with her against her will.
Allegations Forbes has denied.
In fact the court heard on Tuesday, in testimony from Police Corporal Terry Lowe that the accused man told police while in custody four years ago that he had met the complainant some months before and did have sex with her on more than one occasion, but not on the day in question.
Forbes also told police, the nine-member jury heard on Tuesday, that on that fateful day, he picked up the teen from work, took her to his home where others were at the time and they went straight in his room.
He said while the two were laying on his bed, he began caressing her and then she told him that she believed she was one or two months pregnant.
