A TAXI driver has been cleared of raping a man who claimed he was lured to his home after being told a party was taking place.
The 23-year-old man claimed he was attacked at the home of Raja Khan in Richmond Street, Accrington.
Khan, 51, denied rape, and the Crown decided to offer no further evidence against him before the end of the prosecution case at Preston Crown Court.
The judge directed the jury to find the defendant not guilty and he was also awarded defence costs.
Earlier the court had heard evidence from the alleged victim who told the jury the attack left him shaking and crying.
He said he had caught a taxi home at around 6am on 14 October last year and Khan was the driver.
In his police interview he said there did not appear to be a party going on at the house, there was no music or noise and he felt “really uncomfortable”.
He added: “He ripped my shirt, forced me on to the settee and pulled my pants down. What happened was painful and I just wanted to get out of the house.”
During cross examination over a video link system, he denied he had asked for money after sex or that he had a tendency to make up stories.
He said what he had told police was the truth and, although he used CB Taxis regularly, he had not met Khan before. But he admitted he was “tired and a bit tipsy and a bit merry”.
He denied that he had got into the front of the taxi or that he had volunteered the information that he was gay.
He agreed he went into the defendant’s house of his own free will but denied performing a sex act on Khan, consenting to sexual intercourse or asking for payment afterwards.
