ELLSWORTH — A Hancock County jury found a Franklin man not guilty of rape after deliberating less than an hour last week.

Christopher Gilley, 35, had been accused of raping his daughter while she visited him Oct. 9, 2006.

Bangor attorney Christopher Largay represented Gilley.

“From the beginning, we thought it was an incredibly weak case,” said Largay. “We were just very surprised with the only evidence the state had that they brought these charges at all.”

Largay said his client and his family loves the girl and doesn’t understand why she made the accusation.

“Everyone accused of this has a moral taint difficult to overcome in the public eye,” he said.

The state had charged Gilley with gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual touching. He was found not guilty on both counts.

During the trial, which lasted one and a half days, Gilley’s 15-year-old daughter, who lives out of state, testified about the alleged incident. The jury was shown a videotaped interview of the girl telling a Colorado detective about the event.

However, prosecuting attorney Mary Kellett presented no physical evidence to the jury.

The girl testified she told two cousins about the alleged incident the following day but did not report the incident to her mother until a month later.

Neither the girl nor her clothing were examined after she made the report.

Maine State Police Detective Carleton Small testified that after 30 days, people have showered numerous times and washed clothes so evidence is gone.