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BAFTA-winning British actor Micheal Ward has been acquitted of all rape and sexual assault charges after a jury at London's Inner London Crown Court returned unanimous not guilty verdicts, bringing to a close a case that had remained under investigation for more than three years.
According to Variety, the 28-year-old Top Boy Eddington actor had been accused of raping a woman in the back of a car after the two met outside a New Year's party in London in January 2023. Ward denied the allegations throughout the trial, which included two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault. On Friday, the jury unanimously cleared the actor of all charges. According to Variety, a UK-based news organisation reported that Ward's solicitor, Humzah Ilyas, soon after the verdict, said that the actor was "enormously grateful" to the jury for carefully examining the evidence before reaching its decision. Reiterating Ward's consistent stand that the encounter had been consensual, Ilyas said the verdict had cleared the actor "of all wrongdoing." "Micheal Ward is enormously grateful to the members of the jury for taking the time to examine the evidence in this case with such care. As he maintained throughout this case, this was a consensual sexual encounter. The jury agreed and cleared him of all wrongdoing," Ilyas said in a statement. "It has been three and a half years since the police started investigating this matter, during which time Micheal's life, as well as his successful career, has been put on hold. This has, inevitably, had a profound impact on him and those closest to him. Micheal is thankful this process has now reached a conclusion. He looks forward to getting back to the doing work he loves and focusing on the future." Ward rose to prominence with his acclaimed performance in Netflix's Top Boy and won the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2020. He has since starred in several high-profile productions, including Eddington. (ANI)
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