A man has been cleared by a jury in less than 20 minutes of molesting a "drunk and vulnerable" woman after she mistook him for an Uber driver.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Mustafa Akin picked the complainant up outside the Tap 'n' Tin nightclub in Chatham in the early hours of February 3 this year.

It was alleged the 25-year-old then sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions during her journey home from the venue in Railway Street.

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, later told police she repeatedly told Mr Akin "No", tried to push him away, and was left feeling "disgusted".

But he told officers following his arrest that the touching of her breast was consensual and no other inappropriate sexual behaviour had occurred.

He denied two offences of assault by penetration and one of sexual assault, and was found not guilty of all charges on Monday (August 12).

In a video recorded interview played at Mr Akin's week-long trial, the complainant recalled how, once she had left the Tap 'n' Tin, he had allegedly told her he was an Uber driver and invited her into the front passenger seat of his Mercedes before asking for her name and address.

She is simply telling the truth about what happened to her after he had picked her up outside the club when she was drunk and vulnerable.”

But in between bouts of blacking out, she said she came round to discover him "aggressively" squeezing her breast and then with his hand down her knickers.

At one stage in the journey she described vomiting over the dashboard and passenger door, only to be allegedly branded a "dumb b****" by Mr Akin and hit to the head.

The alleged incident was reported to police, resulting in Mr Akin, of Pembroke, Chatham Maritime, being traced through his vehicle details and arrested.

Giving his account to officers, Mr Akin said he had parked his car just past the club to visit a nearby restaurant when the complainant approached him, said his car was "nice" and asked him to take her home.

He said he agreed, she gave him her postcode and as he drove along she held his hand and then they "pecked each other on the lips" while waiting at traffic lights.

Mr Akin added that when the woman was sick, he stopped to clean up his car and, once they had reached her home, she asked him to touch her breasts, which he did.

He maintained she had not said "No" at any time and although he thought she was "tipsy", he had not realised she was drunk until she had vomited.

The court was also told that CCTV of their first encounter after she had left the Tap 'n' Tin showed the woman walking up to Mr Akin, rather than him approaching her as she had recalled.

At the start of the trial, prosecutor Paul Valder had told the jury that the issues to decide were ones of “did it happen” and “consent”.

"You will ask yourself why would she make this up, why would she ask the defendant to touch her breasts moments after throwing up in his car?” he said.

“The prosecution say she isn't making this up. She is simply telling the truth about what happened to her after he had picked her up outside the club when she was drunk and vulnerable.”