By Joe Johnson
An Athens man who was arrested for an alleged rape in 2018 on Monday walked out of Superior Court a free man after having undergone four trials in as many years.
Alex Michael Mosby, 31, was arrested on April 6, 2018 after a woman who locked herself in the bathroom of her Mitchell Bridge Road apartment to call 911 and report that she had been sexually assaulted.
According to Athens-Clarke County police, a property manager unlocked the door of the apartment, where they found Mosby naked on the bed and the alleged victim still locked in the bathroom.
A Clarke County grand jury later that month indicted Mosby on charges of kidnapping, rape, and two counts of aggravated sodomy.
When the case went to trial in December 2018, Western Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Eric Norris, through a directed verdict, acquitted Mosby of the kidnapping charge.
The jury later deadlocked on the remaining charges and the judge declared a mistrial.
The case again went to trial this week, this time with Judge Lawton Stephens presiding.
After jurors reportedly deadlocked, with six jurors voting to convict and six voting to acquit, Stephens declared a mistrial, finding that the jury was “hopelessly deadlocked.”
Judge Stephens presided over Mosby's fourth trial that began on Monday, with Mosby representing himself while wearing an orange jail shirt over his clothing.
The jury acquitted Mosby of all charges Thursday, meaning he cannot be tried again for the same case due to the constitutional double-jeopardy clause.