Jamie Hall

A man accused of raping a 15-year-old girl has spoken of how he is looking forward to "getting on with his life" after being cleared of all charges.

Jurors took less than an hour to find Jamie Hall, 25, of Fettiplace Road, Barton, Oxford, not guilty of rape in a trial he said placed him and his family under "enormous stress and pressure".

The jury at Oxford Crown Court also reached not guilty verdicts on one charge of sexual assault and two of sexual activity with a child.

In court, Mr Hall said he thought the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lied about being raped because he stopped having sex with her.

He said: "I stopped doing what I was doing, which she didn't like, and she didn't want her boyfriend finding out about it so she made up these allegations to cover herself."

The alleged incident happened at the girl's home on August 10 last year and Mr Hall was arrested hours later.

He said since then life for him and his partner Chrissie Bartlett, who sat through the trial, had been "really tough".

He said: "Everyone who was at the house that night knew all along what had really happened, but this isn't necessarily what the jury heard.

"Fortunately, they could see I was the one telling the truth. It just goes to show how one girl's word can almost ruin someone's life."

He also told police he thought the girl might have made the allegations because he had had sex with her mother just hours before the alleged incident.

When the girl's mother took the stand, she denied having sex with Mr Hall. The jury heard she sent him a text message after the incident saying she didn't think he would have attacked her daughter.

Judge Patrick Eccles QC told the jury it was "plain" someone had not been telling the truth.

Mr Hall, a father of two, said: "Clearly the fact the jury returned its verdict so quickly says a lot. I'm absolutely over the moon and so relieved. It means I can now get on with my life and try to forget all about this.

"Even though I knew the truth there was a lot of pressure on me.

"It's been hard for my partner and has obviously had an effect, especially as the court case drew nearer. I told her everything, but she has had to deal with a lot."

The couple, who have two daughters, now plan to marry next year.

Ms Bartlett, 21, said: "I'm just so relieved it's finally all over. I've just had a baby and it was horrible not knowing if he would be coming home and it was all because of one girl's lie."

6:31pm Thursday 3rd July 2008

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