A Suffolk man accused of raping a woman after allegedly locking her in his home has been cleared after the prosecution dropped the case against him.
Paul Shelley, 35, formerly of Debenham, and now living in Stowmarket, denied false imprisonment and rape and last month a jury at Ipswich Crown Court was discharged after failing to reach verdicts in the case.
The case was adjourned to allow the prosecution to decide if it wanted a retrial and today prosecution Christopher Paxton said he wasn’t seeking a retrial and offered no further evidence against Shelley on the two charges.
Judge Rupert Overbury ordered that not guilty verdicts be entered on the court record and made Shelley the subject of an indefinite restraining order banning him from contacting the alleged victim.
During his trial the court heard that following his arrest Shelley told police he and the alleged victim had consensual sex and he had locked the front door because he didn’t want anyone to walk in.
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