Lawrence man found not guilty of raping college student

A Douglas County jury found a 32-year-old Lawrence man not guilty Friday in the alleged rape of a 24-year old local college student in October.

The man was arrested after the alleged victim told police that he assaulted her after she had fallen asleep at a party in Lawrence on Oct. 7. The victim said she awoke to find the man, who was an acquaintance, raping her.

At trial, Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson played audio recordings of the defendant taken by an acquaintance who secretly wore a wire while asking him about the incident. In the recordings, the man acknowledged having sex with the victim but said it was consensual.

The Journal-World generally does not name suspects in sex crimes unless they’re convicted.