Rugby star cleared of sex charges

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/8064430.stm

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Former Ireland and Ulster rugby player David Tweed has been cleared of sexually abusing two young girls.

Mr Tweed, a Ballymena independent unionist councillor, was found not guilty on ten charges including indecent assault and gross indecency.

The jury at Antrim Crown Court took less than 90 minutes to acquit the 49-year-old from Ballymoney.

He later thanked the jury for their "total vindication of me by unanimously finding me not guilty of all counts".

Mr Tweed, who was capped four times for Ireland, said it had been a "very very difficult time for my family and myself with these matters hanging over my head for such a long period".