Jury find Gosport man found not guilty in child rape trial as majority verdict reached
Alex Kaunda was accused of one count of assaulting a child under 13 via penetration and six counts of raping a child under 13.
A man accused of raping a child under the age of 13 has been found not guilty.
This week, Alex Kaunda from St Nicholas Avenue in Gosport has been on trial, accused of one count of assaulting a child under 13 via penetration and six counts of raping a child under 13.
Kaunda, 26, denied all the allegations. His accuser has a life-long right to anonymity.
During the trial, Kaunda’s accuser told the court of how she was sexually assaulted on multiple occasions between 2016 and 2019. The police got involved in 2023 after she wrote a letter to one of her teachers at school.
One of the focal points of evidence was a discussion held in a car, where it’s established that Kaunda apologised to his accuser. He maintained that his apology was about not “stepping up” for her, rather than any sort of sexual assault.
The jury was dismissed just after 1pm on Thursday, April 16 - and while there was an initial push for a majority verdict, this was dismissed by the judge.
This morning (Friday, April 17), the jury returned to the courtroom at 10.42am and were told by Judge James Newton-Price that, after a total of three hours of deliberation, he would now accept a majority verdict.
Returning to court an hour later, the jury reached a majority verdict of not guilty on all seven counts.
Kaunda’s family wept in court as the verdict was read out by the foreman.