A man was cleared of raping a teenage girl after the magistrate said there were too many inconsistencies in her evidence.

The man, a family friend of the teenager, was accused of sexually assaulting her in her bathroom on a date between August 1 and November 30, 2008.

He was also charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice and of using threatening words, on October 6, 2009.

On Tuesday Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner found him not guilty of rape and of attempting to pervert the course of justice. He was however convicted of using threatening words.

The girl, who was 15 at the time of the alleged incident, said she had known the 38-year-old man for most of her life. He was staying at the family home in 2008 due to having problems with his girlfriend.

During the trial, the court heard she was alone in the house one afternoon when the man came into her bathroom while she was brushing her teeth. She said he forced oral sex on her and then raped her.

After reporting the matter to the Police, she then said he approached her in Parliament Street, Hamilton, in October, and told her: "If you don't go to the Police and tell the truth I am going to kill you."

The man however denied sexually assaulting the teenager, attempting to obstruct the course of justice and using threatening words. He cannot be named for legal reasons.

He said he had just told her in the street: "You lie. Just fix it."

Defence lawyer Craig Attridge told the trial there were "major discrepancies" between the account the girl gave the Police and what she said in court.

As well as discrepancies in whether the oral sex came before the rape, there were differences in her statements of how he attacked her.

Although she told the Police he approached her from the front, she told the court the sex act was from behind her.

Delivering his verdict, Mr. Warner said: "I accept the complainant's evidence that the defendant went out of his way maliciously to confront her. The defendant himself confirms this aspect of the case."

But he added: "Mr. Attridge has demonstrated forcefully that there are major inconsistencies in the complainant's evidence.

"Mr Attridge says they are more than inconsistencies, they are clear indications the complainant is lying."

Mr. Warner said: "In all the circumstances I am not satisfied that I feel sure that the evidence of the complainant is reliable.

"I am not satisfied or feel sure the defendant assaulted the complainant and I acquit the defendant of this charge."

Mr. Warner however, found the defendant guilty of using threatening words and sentenced him to three months' imprisonment.

As the man had been remanded in custody since October 9, he was immediately released in court.