Dad cleared of raping ex-wife and daughter said he used carrot 'because sex toys weren't available online'
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A father accused of raping his daughter and ex-wife has been acquitted of all charges.
The 39-year-old denied multiple counts of rape and sexual assault relating to two periods of time, one while he was married and then later when he brought up his children as a single parent.
He stood trial a Truro Crown Court last week and on Monday jurors found him not guilty on all charges.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the complainants, was asked about an allegation that he sexually abused his ex-wife with a carrot.
He told the jury: “We thought it would be a fun idea to experiment with sex toys but it was at a time when sex toys were not widely available.
"You had to go to a sex shop and they weren’t available online.
"It was mutual. It was never one person who pushed it on another.
"We were on our own in the living room at the time."
Referring to earlier prosecution evidence, his defence lawyer Anna Midgley asked if the man had fashioned the carrot into a penis shape.
He replied: “No, a carrot is already sort of penis-shaped.”
He also denied an allegation that he inserted the vegetable in her backside.
The man said the couple began experimenting with different types of sex two years into their relationship and said his ex-wife enjoyed it.
He denied that he raped her in such a way, or that he forced her to drink alcohol before performing the act.
He also denied that he forced her to perform oral sex on him.
The court heard the man did physically assault his ex-wife on two occasions, the first after she admitted she had kissed his best friend and the best man at their wedding.
He said: “I slapped her.
"She told me she had tried to kiss him and he refused her.
"It was like a stab in my heart.”
When asked about his behaviour towards her, he added: “It’s awful. I’ve got issues and I am an idiot.”
The court heard the couple’s marriage came to an end when she returned from a trip to visit her mother.
On her return, they began drinking wine and she informed him that she was leaving him.
In the violent argument that followed, she broke his finger and he was convicted of causing actual bodily harm.
He said: "We were both very drunk. She turned around and said she had met someone and she wanted to call it a day and leave me. I started having a meltdown.
"Because of the issues from my childhood, every now and again I have these explosions.
“I was going mental at her.
"She was sat on the sofa and I was shouting at her and name calling.
"I was pointing at her and she grabbed my finger and pulled it back.
"I grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up and felt like I threw her to the other side of the room.
"I told her to get out before I killed her."
The couple divorced soon afterwards and she moved out, leaving him to bring up their children.
The court heard how his daughter, when she was a teenager, made comments through her school that her dad had had sex with her and got her pregnant.
The matters were referred to social services twice.
The jury also heard that police forensic examinations discovered the daughter’s blood on the man's mattress.
Tests also revealed semen and blood as well as the man’s DNA on her mattress.
The man said he would often bring their mattresses downstairs into the living room so they could pretend to be on a camping trip together.
They would watch films, eat snacks and all sleep in the same room.
He said it was likely that he had slept on her mattress but never in her bedroom.
The accused added that it was possible her blood may have got on to his mattress from her being careless during her period.
He added that she may have been sexually active with boyfriends, which could account for the semen.
He admitted assaulting his daughter when her brother had gone missing.
He said she was supposed to have been looking after him and he lost his temper.
He slapped her and pulled her hair.
It was after this that his daughter left home and he now has no contact with her.