A Suffolk man was acquitted of raping his ex-girlfriend in a trial that ended Monday.

George Lowell Manning had been charged with rape, forcible sodomy, object sexual penetration and abduction with intent to defile.

“It was kind of her word against his,” prosecutor Susan Walton said.

Recordings of a telephone conversation and an interview with police showed that Manning had apologized for the alleged assault, but he had explanations for his words in court, Walton said.
“I guess the jury just had a hard time with the facts as they were presented in finding him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” Walton said.

She added that cases where the victim and the accused have had a prior relationship are often more difficult to prosecute.