Skegness: Man cleared of seaside park rape charge

Saad Gomaa was found not guilty of raping a woman in Skegness' Tower Gardens

A man accused of raping a woman in a park in Skegness has been found not guilty.

Saad Gomaa, 34, was alleged to have attacked the woman in the resort's Tower Gardens on 9 June this year.

Mr Gomaa, an Egyptian national, previously told Lincoln Crown Court that the sex was consensual after the woman "came onto him".

On Wednesday, a jury found him not guilty of one count of rape after deliberating for seven and half hours.

Prosecutors had claimed the alleged victim was too drunk to give consent, but Mr Gomaa told the court she did not appear drunk.

He said she initiated sex by hugging and kissing him after he had rolled her a cigarette.

Mr Gomaa was on Home Office bail and living at a hotel in the resort at the time of the alleged attack, having arrived from France by sea with other migrants about 40 days earlier, the court heard.

During the trial, jurors were told that while Mr Gomaa had submitted an asylum claim his immigration status was irrelevant to their consideration of the case.

Addressing Mr Gomaa, Judge James House KC said: "Mr Gomaa, you are discharged. Once the paperwork has been dealt with, that is the end of the matter.

"What happens with any other immigration matters after this is not a matter for the court," he added.

The court was told Mr Gomaa would not be returning to Skegness.