A Weston man has walked away a free man after a jury cleared him of two sex offences against a child.
Ricky Scott, 40, of Pentelow Way, had denied the charges of assault by penetration and of oral rape after a five day trial at Lincoln Crown Court.
The incident was alleged to have taken place at a property at around 2am on September 29, 2024.
The then 15-year-old girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the court that Mr Scott had penetrated her vagina with his fingers and forced his penis into her mouth in a ten-minute period they were alone together.
Mr Scott said nothing happened during that time.
He told the court he’d been ‘stupid’ to give the girl vodka and lemonade before the incident.
The court was told the allegation was reported to the police the following Monday after the girl told a friend at school who encouraged her to speak to teachers.
Mr Scott was interviewed by police later that evening.
The court had a DNA profile matching Mr Scott’s was found on the inside of the girl’s pants.
Two forensic experts on DNA transfer spoke to the court. Jurors were told the prosecution scientist Simon Telford argued the amount of DNA showed ‘strong support’ for the charge.
The defence forensic scientist James Clery though was described by judge Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight as being ‘neutral’ on whether there could have been a ‘secondary transfer’.
While in the witness box Mr Scott said he was ‘shocked’ to learn that DNA had been discovered inside the girl’s pants and told the court that it could have been passed on by playing thumb wars, something the victim denied happened, or from using his vape.
The jury was shown numerous videos from a camera in the property, although none were in the room where the incident was said to have taken place.
Clare Holmes for the prosecution, described the girl as a ‘reliable witness’ who had ‘nothing to gain’ from the allegations and ‘a lot to lose’.
She accused Scott of changing his evidence to fit what was shown on the cameras including the time he arrived at the property after drinking two Jack Daniels and Cokes with a friend.
Defence solicitor Elizabeth Muir said the girl wasn’t a reliable witness as accounts of the incident differed. The victim said Scott threatened to ‘kill her’ after the incident in one and pleaded for her ‘to not tell anyone’ in another.
Miss Muir also said there were discrepancies in the account of whether the defendant had leant on the girl in some way during the incidents.
She told the court that a lie had ‘snowballed’.
There was no bruising on the girl’s body, the court was told.
The jury deliberated for three hours before delivering not guilty verdicts on both counts.
