A jury has taken less than three hours to clear a man accused of raping a 13-year-old girl on the grounds of a southside primary school.
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Joshua Rollinson, 24, faced a four day trial this week over accusations he sexually assaulted the young girl at the St Thomas the Apostle Primary School in October 2009.
The prosecution’s case had relied almost entirely on evidence given by the 13-year-old. She said she had met Rollinson at a local southside shopping precinct, where he obtained her phone number and began texting and calling her daily.
She accused Rollinson of picking her up in his car on the evening of October 1, taking her to the primary school in Kambah and forcing himself upon her.
Rollinson’s lawyers pointed out holes in the teenager’s story, and discrepancies between what she had told different friends, her mother, police, and the court.
The girl was described by the defence as “a witness that just says whatever comes into her head”, even while under oath.
The jury was urged earlier today to remove any emotion they may feel about the nature of the allegations, and assess whether Rollinson was guilty of the sexual assault “beyond any reasonable doubt”.
The jury took just under three hours to clear Rollinson on all counts about 2.20pm today.
He was found not guilty on two counts of sexual intercourse with a person under 16 years and two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.