Ex-Colt Josh McNary not guilty of rape, other charges

2:15 p.m. update:

A jury has found former Indianapolis Colts linebacker Josh McNary not guilty of rape and other charges.

McNary was charged with rape, criminal confinement and battery. The verdict was reached Thursday after about two hours of deliberation.

McNary said he will try to continue his football career. He described the whole experience as "traumatic" and "tragic."

Defense attorney Jessie Cook said there was "overwhelming reasonable doubt," regarding the accuser's actions. Cook said McNary taking the stand in his own defense helped his case.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said they're confident that the jurors have "conscientiously considered the facts" and they "accept" the verdict.

Noon update:

Jurors began deliberations Thursday in the trial of former Indianapolis Colts linebacker Josh McNary, who is accused of raping a woman he met at a Downtown Indianapolis bar and took home to his apartment.

At issue is whether the jurors will believe that the sex was consensual. Prosecutors argued that although the woman willingly went home with McNary, and the two flirted and kissed throughout the night, she did not consent to having sex with him. The woman testified earlier this week that she said "No" several times and scratched McNary while he raped her in his bedroom.

Defense attorneys said the woman is "confused" and "conflicted," and that her statements about what happened on Dec. 1 have changed repeatedly. McNary testified Wednesday that the woman was friendly, chatty, and fully engaged throughout the night, and that she never said "No" to him.

Closing arguments ended shortly before noon.

Earlier story:

Former Indianapolis Colts linebacker Josh McNary testified at his trial Wednesday that the woman who accused him of raping her was not forced to have sex with him.

McNary, 27, is facing rape, criminal confinement and battery charges in connection with events that happened early Dec. 1, after he and the woman met at a Downtown bar. McNary has maintained his innocence since his January arrest.

When asked by his attorney, Ed Schrager, whether the woman participated in the sex, McNary said, "Absolutely." When asked whether the woman ever said "No" to him, he said, "Absolutely not."

McNary's testimony contradicts statements the woman gave detectives, as well as her testimony earlier this week.

The woman said she began to feel uncomfortable while they were in McNary's apartment and told him she needed to go home. She later went to his bedroom because she was feeling really drunk and said she needed to lie down. She said McNary began to have sex with her despite her repeated attempts to push him away. She said "No" several times, the woman said.

Based on McNary's testimony, the woman asked him at the bar whether he wanted to hang out more. The bar was about to close when the two took a cab to McNary's apartment on Illinois Street in Downtown Indianapolis. They kissed while in the cab and for several minutes after they got to his apartment, McNary said.The Indianapolis Star typically does not name people who are or may have been victims of sexual assault.

McNary said the kissing escalated to sex in the bedroom. At some point, the woman scratched his back aggressively.

Later, the woman said, "Oops, sorry," according to McNary.

But according to the woman, she scratched McNary in an attempt to make him stop.

After they had sex, the woman decided to go home. She testified earlier that she was in shock and that she needed to get out of the apartment. She told authorities that she quickly gathered some of her belongings, grabbed a phone that she thought was hers and left. McNary, however, testified that he gave the woman her cellphone, which was in his bedroom, and that she left while he was looking for his phone.

The whole night, McNary said, the woman was friendly, chatty and carried on most of the conversation.

"I'm really confused," McNary said on the stand. "She basically just left unannounced..."

McNary said he went to the elevator of his apartment building to go after the woman. He said he heard her voice from inside the elevator as he was standing outside. She sounded distressed, he said.

"She was basically lamenting and asking for help," McNary said.

He said he heard the woman say, "I need help. This guy had me trapped. I don't know what to do."

"It was completely outrageous to me," McNary said, adding that he wanted to confront her and ask what was wrong, but he changed his mind and went back to his apartment.

The woman said she later realized that she had taken McNary's phone. She found her phone in her bag after she left the apartment and called her friends, some of whom testified earlier this week that she was crying hysterically while they talked to her.

McNary's trial began Monday. Jurors likely will begin deliberating Thursday.

McNary, a Houston native who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., began his career with the Colts in 2013. The team received permission from the NFL to put McNary on a list making him ineligible to practice or attend games after his arrest on Jan. 14. His contract expired in March.

The woman was working as a floor manager for a Downtown bar at the time of the alleged incident. She no longer lives in Indianapolis.

Call Star reporter Kristine Guerra at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @kristine_guerra.