THE family of a young man accused of raping and choking a stranger during a night out in Newcastle in 2022 have broken down in tears in court after he was acquitted of all charges.
After listening to a week of evidence and closing arguments, a jury took only about an hour on Monday morning to find Jack Milner, 21, not guilty of aggravated sexual assault and inflicting actual bodily harm and the alternative charge of sexual intercourse without consent.
Mr Milner's defence, led by barrister Margaret Cunneen, SC, had argued the woman made up the claim about being attacked to avoid getting into trouble for trying to sneak into the back of what she thought was Finnegan's Hotel.
Ms Cunneen described the woman as an "actress", who switched from "trespasser to victim" and perhaps thought the man she had accused, Mr Milner, would never be found.
Prosecutors had argued the woman's version was supported by her early complaint to friends, injuries to her neck and DNA evidence.
But ultimately, the jury were left with at least some doubt about what the woman said happened during the two minutes or so while the pair were in the alleyway and out of view of CCTV cameras and after deliberating for about an hour they returned and found him not guilty of both charges.
Mr Milner walked from the dock and hugged his parents in the public gallery, who had wept and embraced upon hearing the verdicts.
