A man accused of violently raping a friend after p
A man accused of violently raping a friend after pretending to be a policeman to get inside her house was acquitted at the Old Bailey today (FRI).
David Taormina, 29, had been thrown out of the woman’s Dagenham home after she phoned 999 to complain about his abusive and threatening behaviour.
He immediately returned and after the argument calmed down the couple had sex together, the court heard.
But she phoned police at 5.
08am on February 7, 2001, and they arrived when Taormina was still asleep.
The prosecution claimed the woman did not give a ‘valid consent’ because she feared a battering if she refused.
Taormina told the jury she had attacked him after he refused to turn the music down but eventually things calmed down.
He claimed it was consensual sex and denied committing rape on February 7, 2001.
The jury acquitted him after only a few hours deliberation.
Taormina, of Weylond Road, Dagenham, walked free from court.
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