Jay Clarke allowed a subtle smirk to creep across his mouth on Friday afternoon as the jury returned not guilty verdicts on three counts of sexual intercourse without consent following a five-day trial in Wollongong District Court.

Family members, including Clarke’s pregnant girlfriend, broke down in tears when the verdicts were announced.

Outside court, Clarke declined to comment except to say he was relived the case was over.

Jurors heard from several witnesses during the trial, including the complainant, who told the court she woke in the early hours of December 29, 2016 to discover a male lying on top of her, moving his penis in and out of her vagina.

She said in a dazed state she called out the name of a male friend, allegedly prompting the man to say ‘who the f—k is [he]?’

The woman said she instantly recognised the voice as that of Clarke, who she had met for the first time earlier that night.

She claimed she yelled at him to get off her and leave, to which he allegedly replied “just let me f—king finish I’m close to coming.”

However, Clarke gave a different version of events when he took the stand, claiming the woman had been the instigator of the sexual encounter and that it had been consensual.

He admitted lying to police during his initial interview, where he told them there had been no penetration of any kind between them.

However, police later discovered Clarke’s DNA inside the woman’s vagina.

In court, Clarke said he had willingly gone into the woman’s bedroom – at her request – and that he had digitally penetrated her until she called out the other man’s name, prompting him to leave.

The jury retired on Friday morning to consider their verdicts but ultimately found the Crown had not proven the rape allegations beyond reasonable doubt.

The complainant was in court to hear the outcome.