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PA
A woman has won £80,000 in damages from a man who had been cleared of raping her after a night out in Fife.
The woman, who cannot be named, had sued Stephen Coxen, who is now 23, from Bury in Greater Manchester.
The second year student said she was raped after a night out in St Andrews in 2013 by Coxen, who she had met earlier in the evening.
Mr Coxen had denied the charges and in November 2015 a jury found the case against him not proven.
The civil action was heard at the Personal Injury Court in Edinburgh.
'Compelling and persuasive'
The case is understood to be the first of its kind in Scotland.
Sheriff Robert Weir said the evidence from the woman, who is now 23, had been "cogent, compelling and persuasive".
He said that Mr Coxen took advantage of her when she was incapable of giving meaningful consent because of the effects of alcohol.
The sheriff said she had been distressed and had resisted but Coxen had continued to rape her.
The sheriff agreed that she should be paid £80,000 in damages.
Mr Coxen's lawyer, Mark Thorley, said: "He (Stephen Coxen) is considering the judgement and will look at his options thereafter."
The personal injury court judgment follows a hearing in June.
The sheriff heard that Coxen, who was then 18, had driven up from Manchester in September 2013 to visit a friend who was beginning his second year at St Andrews University.
Coxen met the woman, who was an 18-year-old student, at the Lizard Lounge in the town.
The judgment said she had been drinking heavily at a party but was still able to gain entry to the club at about midnight.
At some point after her arrival, she is reported to have been seen kissing with Coxen in the club's smoking lounge.
Coxen is then said to have been involved in an altercation and was ejected from the premises close to 2am.