Care worker cleared of rape

A FORMER night assistant at a Suffolk residential home has been cleared of sexually assaulting a teenager with learning difficulties.Craig Brown, 47, of Second Avenue, Sudbury had denied three offences of raping the teenager in the 1990's and three alternative charges of indecent assault.

A FORMER night assistant at a Suffolk residential home has been cleared of sexually assaulting a teenager with learning difficulties.

Craig Brown, 47, of Second Avenue, Sudbury had denied three offences of raping the teenager in the 1990's and three alternative charges of indecent assault. He was cleared of all the offences.

During the two day trial at Ipswich Crown Court it was alleged that Brown had gone into the teenager's bedroom at the Barleycombe Residential Home in Sudbury and had touched him intimately before raping him.

The alleged victim told the court from behind a screen that he had told Brown to stop but he had ignored his pleas.

He claimed that after the alleged attacks Brown had told him to “keep quiet” and had then left his room.

Giving evidence during the trial Brown said he had worked at Barleycombe for a period of about two months in the 1990's before getting the sack for falling asleep while he was on duty.

He denied ever acting in a sexually inappropriate way towards any of the residents.