A British man found guilty of raping a sleeping woman in Australia last year has had his conviction overturned.
Scott Harry Richardson, 26, was sentenced to two years over the alleged attack on a US backpacker in Sydney in 2016, and will now face a retrial.
During the trial, the court heard the woman, 23, fell asleep on a sofa during a house party and awoke to find a man raping her.
Richardson claimed he had mistaken the woman for a friend and jumped onto the blanket covering her, but left immediately upon realising he had made a mistake.
According to Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, it comes after the discovery of new DNA evidence.
The newspaper said the decision could have ramifications for other cases as the DNA test used to provide the new evidence is not currently used in New South Wales.