The jury failed to reach a verdict on the rape case charged against a former Oxford Ph.D. student, setting him free. The 25-year-old student's text pal claimed that he forced to take off her clothes in his flat and raped her.
Statistician Sherman Ip faced a rape charge for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman who refused to be identified. According to Metro, Ip and the accuser had two different encounters, one of which was the attack on May 14, 2013.
The woman claimed she bolted from Ip's apartment in tears after the incident. Ip, however, insisted they engaged in a consensual sex, adding that during the instance, "everything was normal."
Ip stated that the woman came into his apartment because she wanted to talk. The accuser eventually invited Ip to have sex with her and laid on the bed.
During the second time around, Ip and the complainant met in her parent's house. The alleged attack happened the same day after the woman claimed she was forced and raped.
On October 2014, Ip sent a Facebook private message to the woman, saying "I am really sorry for raping you." The accused said he only sent the message because he wanted her to come back and that he would do anything to get back with her again.
During the trial, Ip also claimed that the woman seduced him. Daily Mail reported Ip was initially thought of making up the May 15th encounter just so he can claim that the woman is still happy with him.
Ip, however, denied the court's suspicion. He added that it was the woman who wanted to have sex with him.
The defendant received a master's degree in Physics from the University of London. He moved to Oxford University in 2015 under the Oxford Warwick Statistics Programme. Jurors described both Ip and the woman to be young people that have capable minds.
