A judge has told a man he would leave court without any stain on his reputation or character after a jury found him unanimously not guilty of rape and sexual assault charges.
Robert Scott Bell, 22, went on trial at Carlisle Crown Court earlier this week having denied two charges.
These had alleged both the rape and sexual assault of a woman in the Eden area on December 24 2018.
But Mr Bell insisted he committed no offences on that date. And this afternoon, a jury returned unanimously not guilty verdicts on both charges after hearing all evidence in the case over the course of several days.
After the verdicts were announced, the trial judge, Recorder Abigail Hudson, told Mr Bell, of Main Street, Cockermouth: “You leave this court without any stain on your reputation or your character.
“You are free to go and this concludes the proceedings against you.”