A BASINGSTOKE man has been acquitted of raping a 16-year-old girl.

Gary Peter Ian Davidson has been cleared of plying a 16-year-old girl with drugs and alcohol before sexually assaulting her along with his friend, Thuc Hung Dinh, 33, known as "Chan".

Mr Dinh pleaded guilty to sexual assault part way through an initial joint trial last week, which saw the jury dismissed and a new jury sworn in.

Mr Davidson, of Basingfield Close, Basingstoke, had pleaded not guilty to rape and two counts of sexual assault.

In the trial at Winchester Crown Court which lasted just over a week, the court heard how Mr Davidson claimed Mr Dinh rang him on a night out at the Old Basing British Legion in February 2018, telling him he had a "17-year-old girl" in his car and they were outside his caravan on the Hatch Park Mobile Home Park in Old Basing.

It was alleged that the girl joined the men inside and, when she awoke, she found the men on top of her.

Mary Aspinall-Miles, prosecuting, said that the complainant "said no several times" and tried to push them off of her.

Then on July 16, a police interview was read in court in which Mr Davidson claimed he believed the sex was consensual.

The 34-year-old further said it "never would have happened in a million years" if he had known she was 16.

The jury retired to deliberate at 11.59am this morning (Thursday, July 22) and returned a verdict approximately three-and-a-half hours later.

They found Mr Davidson not guilty on all three counts, meaning he has been acquitted.

Mr Dinh, who was not charged with rape, is due to be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court tomorrow (Friday, July 23) for one count of sexual assault.