A university student has been acquitted of raping a fellow resident at a Canberra on-campus dormitory.
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An ACT Supreme Court jury took less than one hour on Thursday to find the accused not guilty on charges of sexual intercourse without consent of the woman in his room at an Australian National University residential college in late 2011.
The man shook his lawyer's hands and managed a smile after the verdict had been delivered.
The verdict ended a three-day trial in which the defendant had been accused of raping the woman in his on campus room after a night out.
During the trial, the court heard the pair kissed at a Civic club and then travelled back to the dormitory together.
They went to his room where they kissed again, before he allegedly attempted to touch her genitals.
The woman, in her evidence, said she pushed his hands away and said "No", but defendant is alleged to have pushed her down, took off her pants and digitally penetrated and raped her.
But then woman then started a two-month casual sexual relationship with the accused with the pair having sex a second time a week after the alleged offence.
She claimed she consented to the relationship so she could regain control.
"I just really wanted to make it normal. I thought if I had control over it then it would be ok," she said while giving evidence.
From the witness stand the accused said the sexual relationship had been consensual at all times.
He told jurors the woman had not said no, did not push away his hands, did not clamp her legs together, and had been an active participant during the sex.
Jurors also heard the pair would communicate through social media or text message, and their electronic interactions were tendered as evidence by the defence.
The pair would watch movies together before having sex and used the word "debate" as code for sex.
The defence barrister, in his closing submissions, argued the communications revealed "a normal casual sexual relationship between two university students".
He said the messages showed the accused to be a courteous young man who behaved impeccably, and argued the communications contradicted her evidence.
The judge thanked the jury and discharged the accused.
- Editor's note: The name of the accused has been removed from the originally published story. The man was acquitted of these charges.
