A RAPE trial ended with the acquittal of a Woolmer Green man.

Ian Mitchell, of Mardlebury Court, was cleared of raping a woman at his home in the summer of last year.

The unanimous verdict, at Cambridge Crown Court, marked the end of a year of hell for 39-year-old Mr Mitchell, who had to endure a retrial, after the jury in the previous trial was thrown out, in April this year.

Mr Mitchell’s heavily pregnant girlfriend cried tears of joy as the ‘not guilty’ verdict was announced by the foreman of the jury on December 8.

The self-employed businessman, dressed in a smart suit and blue tie, held his head in his hands and wept in the dock as he was vindicated and told he was free to go by judge Gareth Hawkesworth.

The case centred on the events of a boozy afternoon and evening, when Mr Mitchell met up with the woman who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The pair had known each other previously.

They went to pubs and then back to Mr Mitchell’s maisonette.

The court heard how he and his accuser, in her mid-20s, drank alcohol and snorted cocaine while listening to music.

The woman alleged as it got late, she had changed into some jogging bottoms belonging to Mr Mitchell and had gone to sleep in his bed, only to be woken up by him raping her.

But the jury did not believe her version of events and cleared Mr Mitchell, who did not deny having sex with his accuser.

As he walked free from court Mr Mitchell said: “Make sure you report that [the verdict].”

His brother Chris said his brother had “maintained his innocence throughout”.

Under the terms of Sexual Offences Act 2003, Mr Mitchell’s accuser is entitled to lifelong anonymity – a rule that caused concern for his supporters after he was acquitted.