A 66-year-old Co Meath taxi-driver has been found not guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury of raping and sexually assaulting a woman passenger after she fell asleep in his car.
The jury deliberated for almost four hours hours before returning not guilty verdicts on day five of the trial following an overnight stay in a hotel.
The president of the High Court, Mr Justice Finnegan, discharged the man, who had denied committing the offences on the woman on July 16th, 1999, in Co Kildare.
He discharged the four women and eight men from further jury service for five years.
The woman had alleged that after celebrating her 21st birthday at a local pub she had engaged the accused, whose taxi she had used for three years, to bring her home.
She told the jury she woke up to find him shaking her and telling her to "fix herself up". She said one leg of her jeans and her panties had been removed while she was asleep.
She reported what had happened to her aunt within minutes of leaving the taxi and gardaí were called shortly after.
The jury heard from forensic scientists who said they found the man's semen on the woman, and the doctor who examined her at the sexual assault unit in Dublin's Rotunda Hospital said results of the examination were consistent with her allegations.
The accused told the jury he had been having a casual affair with the woman for over two years when the incident occurred.The only explanation he could think of for her allegations was his inability to have sex with her that night, thereby leaving her feeling "disappointed and rejected".