A Cork man has been found not guilty of raping a girl when they were both 17 years old

The defendant burst into tears after the unanimous verdict was announced and was hugged by members of his family.

They heard evidence from the complainant – who was 17 at the time – that she had told her mother what had happened: “I said to my mother I think I was raped. Gardaí came up… I was confused. I felt violated. I had a mix of feelings. I was mad. I was just everywhere.”

At the time, she said she didn’t want to press charges of rape. She added: “After a few days I decided to make an official report.”

Cross-examining the complainant, senior defense attorney Alice Fawcett said: “The defendant was interviewed by gardaí. He admitted that he had sexual intercourse with you, but said it was consensual.

“They largely agree on what happened that night. He says you and him went to smoke and you went behind the container and kissed. He said, ‘My hands were on her, her hands were on.’ Me’.”

The witness replied: “No. My hands were at my side.”

She also disputed the defendant’s account of the sexual intercourse, in which the defendant said, “I dropped my pants.” She took off her pants. After two or three minutes she told me it started to hurt.

“I asked if she wanted to stop, so I stopped. Then we kissed again. After a while we went back to our friends.”

The controversial offense at the heart of the case related to an incident in Cork on August 7, 2020, when both parties were 17 years old.

There is a legal ban on identifying the parties in the case.