07/25/2008

Associated Press

A jury on Maryland's Eastern Shore has acquitted a sheriff's deputy from Fairfax County, Va., who was accused of raping an intoxicated woman in Ocean City.

Thirty-two-year-old Zachary Taylor was charged with second-degree rape and assault in the alleged incident at the Princess Bayside Hotel in February. The trial lasted two days.

The case focused on the credibility of the accuser, characterized by both sides as having a drinking problem. According to court testimony, Taylor and the woman met at Seacrets nightclub and left to go to Taylor's hotel room. A hotel employee later found the woman crying on a couch in the lobby and called police.

After he was confronted with the woman's statement to police, Taylor told police he had consensual sex with the woman.

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Information from: The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times, http://www.delmarvanow.com/