A Springfield, Massachusetts, man who had been charged with sexually assaulting two young girls has been cleared by a jury.
Masslive.com reports that the Hampden Superior Court jury on Monday acquitted 26-year-old Christopher Manolarakis of four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and one count of rape of a child aggravated by age difference.
Prosecutors alleged that the offenses occurred from April 2010 until February 2015. One of the girls was as young as 7 or 8. Authorities at first feared that no one would believe them and only came forward with their allegations last year when they were seeing a therapist.
The suspect's lawyer said the girls were troubled and made false accusations.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
