A man walked free from court yesterday after a jury found him not guilty of sexually assaulting a young mother in front of her child.

At the end of a week-long trial at Supreme Court, the nine-woman, three-man jury swiftly returned the verdict of innocence, enabling the defendant to spend Christmas with his family.

The 28-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was accused of sexually assaulting the young mother in his North Hamilton home in March, 1999.

When the verdict was finally read out before the court yesterday afternoon, the accused's family and friends let out an audible sigh of relief.

He was immediately discharged and quickly left the dock to greet them.

The 21-year-old woman, who took the stand on Monday and appeared in court throughout the week, was not present for the result yesterday.

The court heard that she knew the man because at the time of the alleged attack he was sexually involved with her sister.

The mother told the court that she was sexually assaulted by the man after agreeing to go to his home to pick up some change for her bus fare.

While at his house, he asked her to spend the night with him, to which she refused.

However, the woman told the court that he sexualty assaulted her while her two-year-old child looked on crying.

And the court was told that she finally managed to break free when the accused loosened his grip of her to unfasten his belt.

The court also heard that before the woman ran from the house in tears, the man gave her $6 for bus fare.

Throughout the trial the man, who admitted he could not read or write, maintained his innocence and claimed she never asked him for bus fare until she reached his house.

He agreed that he asked her to spend the night with him, but said when she refused, she simply got up and left the house, taking $6 bus fare with her.

He said she left "a happy person''.

During her closing argument, the man's lawyer Sonia Grant stressed that the woman could have asked for money from a friend to whom the man gave money just before she left Middletown to go back to his house.

And Ms Grant said it seemed strange that the woman allegedly yelled "get the f*** off me,'' while her child was hitting the man, yet none of the other occupants of the house heard it and came to her aid.

Ms Grant also said the fact that the woman did not report the matter to Police immediately, but waited until the following day, was suspect.

She also expressed puzzlement over the fact that the woman called her sister who was working near King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, yet the sister offered her no assistance.

And, she questioned why the woman had not told her boyfriend when she saw him soon after the attack.

Ms Grant claimed the woman fabricated the story with her boyfriend to "get'' her client and said the story just "did not make sense''.

And she asked why the woman had not hit out at her alleged attacker with her umbrella, if, in fact, the attack had taken place.

Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux warned the jury before they were sent out that that they should not convict the man simply because sexual offences had been highlighted in the media recently.