Sign up to FREE email alerts from PlymouthLive - Court Insider Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A man acquitted by a jury of raping and sexually assaulting a woman today spoke of his “two years of hell”.

Adam North, aged 33, spent months waiting for trial and three days in the dock at Plymouth Crown Court.

But he was acquitted by a jury on unanimous verdicts in just 44 minutes.

Mr North said upon leaving the building a free man: “It has been two years of hell. It was a situation I should never have been in. I was wrongly accused. There was no ‘ermming and ahhing’ from the jury. They saw that I was 100 per cent innocent”.

Mr North, from Darwin Crescent, Laira, had always denied the allegations from April and May 2017.

(Image: File image)

It took only 44 minutes for a jury of seven women and five men to unanimously acquit him on three counts – two of rape and one of sexual assault.

Mr North, who has been on bail, said any sexual contact with the woman was consensual.

He used tissues to wipe tears from his eyes in the dock as friends and family gasped in relief.

Some supporters cried as the judge released Mr North from the dock after the trial, which started on Wednesday.

Mr North was interviewed as a voluntary attender at a police station without a solicitor.

Want more news?

To keep up to date with Plymouth Live's latest news, follow us on Facebook here and Twitter here , or visit our homepage at www.plymouthlive.com

For Devon news, find Devon Live's Facebook page here , or their Twitter page here , or visit their homepage at www.devonlive.com

For Cornwall news, find Cornwall Live's Facebook page here , or their Twitter page here , or visit their homepage at www.cornwalllive.com .