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Facebook attack victim found not guilty of rape

A U.K. man who was tracked down via Facebook and beaten for an alleged rape has been cleared of the crime.

 

Jordan Valinsky

IRL

Posted on Oct 23, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 8:56 am CDT

A man in England who was accused of rape after a distressed husband tracked him down via Facebook has been found not guilty.

On Tuesday, Andrew Marsh, 38, was cleared of rape by a Maidstone Crown Court jury in Kent. He was assaulted after the victim’s husband learned his wife was raped. The husband, who cannot be named, found Marsh’s information by contacting his friends on Facebook, claiming he was organizing a surprise party.

The rape, which allegedly took place over 10 years ago, was only reported to police after the husband’s attack.

According to Kent Online, Marsh described being brutally attacked by the husband to a jury of seven men and five women.

“He started punching me, punching me in the head, shoulder, back and arm,” said Marsh to the court. “What the fuck? It wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything.”

The alleged rape happened in 2001, when Marsh was 27 years old and married, and the woman was still a teenager. The woman claimed Marsh pinned her against a wall and raped her, a claim he denied. However, Marsh was found guilty for indecent assault for admittedly “French kissing” the girl.

“We did regrettably kiss once affectionately,” Marsh told the court. “It was a 10-second French kiss with tongues. It was something that shocked me.”

Marsh is required to sign-up for Kent’s sex offenders’ register and was released on bail. The judge said Marsh will soon be sentenced for the indecent assault charge.

Photo via Bill Bradford/Flickr

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*First Published: Oct 23, 2012, 12:46 pm CDT