A retired assistant principal has been acquitted of raping a primary school student.
Neil Morrison, 69, had been accused of carrying out the sexual assaults while he was working as a teacher and assistant principal on the NSW south coast before his retirement in 2016.
But Judge Philip Stewart found him not guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 under his authority and one count of aggravated sexual intercourse with a child aged between 10 and 14 in the Campbelltown District Court on Friday.
The allegations dated back to 2014, when Mr Morrison was a Year 3 teacher at Minnamurra Public School.
He had been accused of following a student into a class storeroom, closing the door behind him, pushing them into a kneeling position and raping her.
The prosecution further alleged the teacher then pushed them against a shelf and raped her again.
But Judge Stewart found the complainant's evidence featured a number of inconsistencies and contradictions that prompted a reliability issue, meaning he could not be satisfied of Mr Morrison's guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
"I make no criticism of the complainant whatsoever," he told the court.
"(But) there are numerous examples of the complainant's evidence ... that touch upon reliability and credibility.
"They did the best they could to respond to questions asked, and I reject the submission they were deflecting from the allegations."
Regarding the alleged storeroom rape, Judge Stewart found the complainant contradicted themself by alleging they had seen things during the incident, while also testifying the room was pitch black.
When recalling the experience to police, the complainant said they could not be sure if they were conflating multiple incidents.
Tables of evidence prepared by the complainant also could not be taken as reliable, Judge Stewart found.
"The two tables highlight memory issues, substantial changes from the original statement, as well as subtle changes," he said.
Visibly relieved, Mr Morrison wiped tears from his eyes after the verdict was delivered and quickly exited the dock.
There he was met by at least six supporters who hugged and kissed him.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
