[A] MAN on trial at Carlisle Crown Court has been cleared of one of seven charges he has denied.
Luke Thompson, 24, was earlier today (WED) found unanimously not guilty of alleged controlling and coercive behaviour towards a woman.
However, the jury foreman told Recorder Mark Ainsworth that no unanimous verdicts on six other charges which Thompson faces – all of which relate to a different woman – had yet been reached.
Thompson, of no fixed address, has denied four rape allegations, one alleged kidnap and a further charge alleging sexual assault. He told jurors while giving evidence during his trial he did not commit any alleged offences against either woman.
Recorder Mark Ainsworth has now given a majority direction, and told jurors he can accept any further verdicts on which at least 10 of them are agreed.
The jury has retired to continue its deliberations.
