A former director of Bradford’s Bite the Mango film festival was today acquitted by a Bradford Crown Court jury of charges of sexually assaulting two girls, including the rape of one.

It took the jury little more than an hour to find Adeni Rutter not guilty of all six allegations he faced.

Mr Rutter, 42, was discharged from the dock by the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas QC.

He had denied four charges of indecently assaulting a young girl in Keighley and one of raping her several years later when she was 14. He also pleaded not guilty to groping another girl, about ten years ago when she was 15 or 16.

During his defence the jury was told he had never touched either girl inappropriately and could not explain why they had made up the allegations.

He had originally been charged with 14 offences but the indictment was amended after the close of his defence case.

Mr Rutter, known as Addy and now of Fairfax Crescent, Southowram, Halifax, had also told the jury he had no criminal convictions or cautions.

The jury was told he had lived in Keighley before joining the Army when he was 16. He later worked for the National Media Museum marketing department and then became director of the museum’s film department.

He was director of the Bite the Mango festival for two years but was made redundant by the museum in 2010.