A Wollongong man has been found not guilty of raping a woman when he visited her home last year.
Abdullah Al Harere's week-long Wollongong District Trial came to a close on Thursday in which he defended one count of sexual intercourse without consent.
Al Harere, 39, stood up and clapped as the jury of 12 handed down their not guilty verdict that afternoon.
It was alleged the woman was "shocked" to see Al Harere when he turned up at her home about 9pm on a March 2022 evening, prompting her to ask why he was there.
He was then accused of raping her in her room despite the woman saying "stop". The jury heard evidence from the woman in a closed court, with Crown prosecutor Tim George saying in closing submissions she was a "remarkable" and "honest" witness.
The Crown alleged the woman sustained bruises to her upper body and had shown them to three witnesses, who the jury also heard from.
Al Harere also took to the witness stand on Thursday where he denied the allegations, disputing he saw the bruises on the woman and that she had asked him to stop.
In closing submissions, defence barrister Caitlin Akhtar showed the jury an array of text messages exchanged between Al Harere and the woman, including one showing the woman had sent 'kiss face' emojis to him following his visit.
Ms Akhtar said it could not found that Al Harere committed the alleged offence beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
