ITHACA, N.Y. — An Ithaca man was found not guilty Thursday of raping and sexually abusing a woman in a Lot 10 bathroom about three years ago.
Jonathan “Scar” Smith, 30, was charged with felony first-degree rape and first-degree sex abuse after a woman reported an incident that happened June 6, 2015.
The woman told police that she was raped in a bathroom stall by Smith. A rape kit conducted at Cayuga Medical Center later matched with Smith’s DNA and the woman had bruising on her right upper arm.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening. I was terrified. I was shocked. I was angry,” she said when she testified Tuesday.
Smith testified at trial Wednesday and said he met the woman at Lot 10, and she wanted to do cocaine. The two of them went into the men’s bathroom stall to do the drug and, after spending time talking, Smith said the two of them had consensual sex.
Related: Jurors deliberating in Lot 10 rape case
“She’s not saying anything in a sense of no or anything,” he said. “There was no, ‘No.’ There was no, ‘Stop.’ There was no, ‘I don’t want to do this.’”
He said the two eventually came out of the stall, and he invited her to an after-party, which he said she consented to attend. But as they were leaving the bar, Smith said a mutual friend of theirs started yelling at her due to a prior conflict they had and the woman left.
He was interviewed about the incident in January 2016 and denied knowing the woman, but later confessed to having sex with her. He said he lied because he didn’t want his longtime girlfriend to find out that he cheated on her.
Related: Trial starts for man charged with raping woman at Lot 10
The jury began deliberating Wednesday afternoon and continued Thursday morning. The verdict came in around 4 p.m.
After sentencing, Smith’s attorney said, “Well right at the moment, my only thought is that I’m extremely pleased and I think the jury did a wonderful job.”