Former Emmerdale actor cleared of rape
Ben Freeman has been cleared of raping a 16-year-old British girl in Barbados
Also In The News
|
A brilliant display of tennis from Andy Murray saw him blow away France's Gael Monfils to reach the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters. |  |
Saturday, 18, Oct 2008 09:28
Former Emmerdale actor Ben Freeman has been cleared of raping a 16-year-old British girl in Barbados.
Freeman, 28, was accused of raping the girl after they met at a holiday resort on the Caribbean island in November 2006.
The actor, who played Scott Windsor in the ITV soap, admitted he knew the age of the teenage girl from Cheshire but claimed she never resisted his advances and denied all the charges at the high court in Bridgetown.
He said they first kissed one evening after swimming in the hotel's pool and had sex on a sun lounger. He maintained she never asked him to stop.
On Friday, the jury took a little over an hour to reach a not guilty verdict.
Speaking outside the court, Freeman said: "I'm grateful to be vindicated by the jury's verdict and am looking forward to spending time with my family and close friends who have been enormously supportive to me over the past two years."