A 40-year-old Donegal man has been found not guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court of raping and sexually assaulting his niece in 1985 when she was 13 years old.
The jury deliberated for 2 1/2 hours before returning the unanimous not-guilty verdict on the one charge of rape and the four charges of indecent assault brought against him.
The man denied in evidence that he ever touched his niece, not even for a peck on the cheek, until his wedding day when they danced together.
The woman ran out of the courtroom and sobbed in her father's arms as the verdict was heard.