Stuart Olding apologises ‘for the hurt that was caused’ after not guilty verdict

He said he "deeply regrets the events of that evening".

Stuart Olding has apologised for the "hurt that was caused" in a statement after he was acquitted of one count of rape. After more than 3 hours and 40 minutes of deliberation, the jury of eight men and three women delivered the unanimous verdicts early Wednesday afternoon. Olding's solicitor, Paul Dougan, read out a statement on the behalf of his client after the verdict was handed down this afternoon. https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/979002260452773890 The statement read:

"I want to start by thanking the judge and jury for their time and patience throughout this long trial. "I am very relieved that the jury has accepted my explanation as to what occurred. "I want to acknowledge publicly that though I committed no criminal offence on the evening of the 28th of June 2016 I regret deeply the events of that evening. "I want to acknowledge that the complainant came to court and gave evidence about her perception of those events. "I am sorry for the hurt that was caused to the complainant. It was never my intention to cause any upset to anyone on that night. "I don't agree with her perception of events and I maintain that everything that happened on that evening was consensual. "I have consistently told the truth to the police and the court when asked to account for my condict. "The Stuart Olding who has been portrayed over the past nine weeks in this trial is not the real Stuart Olding. "I am fiercely proud to represent my province and my country. I have worked very hard to achieve those goals. "I hope to be able to prove myself going forward in all aspects of my life."

If you or anyone you know has been affected by this story, you can contact the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre on 1800 77 8888, Women's Aid on 1800 341 900, Samaritans on 116 123/Text: 087 2609090/Email: jo@samaritans.ie or Pieta House at 1800 247 247.