A man has been found not guilty on counts of false imprisonment and assault of a 19-year-old woman in Waterford city in 2019.
The Journal reports it was alleged that 44-year-old Lithuanian national Vytautas Siaulys falsely imprisoned Tammy Dowdall and threatened that her breasts and fingers would be cut off after she went to a house in the city centre to buy cannabis.
Mr Siaulys' defence argued that the complainant and gardaí had wrongly identified the defendant, while there was a considerable lack of forensic evidence, medical records and known eye-witnesses called to the hearing.
During cross-examination, Ms Dowdall noted that she was too terrified to leave the house during the alleged false imprisonment and was "in shock" and "disgusted" with herself following the alleged ordeal.
Mr Siaulys's defence, meanwhile, claimed that the investigating garda had "jumped to a conclusion" and that he had worked on the case alone.
Despite Dowdall's testimony being supported by two gardaí, a jury returned a verdict of not guilty on counts of false imprisonment and assault.
