Wednesday 11 December 2013
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| Stephen Brawn |
A man named Stephen Brawn was today cleared of rape after filming himself having sex with a sleeping woman before posting the footage on Facebook.
Speaking after a jury at Ipswich Crown Court acquitted him, Stephen Brawn blasted police claiming he should 'never have been charged'.
The woman, who for legal reasons remains anonymous, complained to police that she had been raped by the 22-year-old.
She told officers she had not consented to having sex when she was asleep and as a result had not given her permission for the encounter to be filmed.
The woman said she only found out about the video clip when a relative spotted that Brawn had uploaded it on to his Facebook page on May 30.
Brawn admitted posting the footage on the social networking site, but he claimed the woman had earlier consented to him filming them having sex with her while she slept.
A jury of eight women and four men took an hour deliberating the facts of the case before returning a unanimous not guilty verdict, following the two-day trial at Ipswich Crown Court.
Earlier Judge John Devaux told the jury: 'It is often said that the crown court is not a court of morals.
'He is charged with rape and you won't convict him simply because he put footage of the act on Facebook.'
The jury was told that the one minute video clip, taken on Brawn's mobile phone, clearly identified the woman and showed she was asleep.
