DALTON — A man accused of raping an adult family member more than two years ago was found not guilty by a Whitfield County Superior Court jury Friday.

The jury returned not guilty verdicts for James Ray Green on charges of rape, incest, false imprisonment, aggravated sexual battery and two counts of burglary related to the incident.

Teresa Moss alleged the incident occurred in September 2010 at a Dalton motel. Green was 44 and living in Cohutta when he was charged by the Dalton Police Department with the crimes on Oct. 8, 2010. Moss is Green’s niece.

Green’s attorney, Richard Murray, said his client maintained his innocence throughout.

“We’re delighted,” Murray said. “We’ve known for a long time that he was innocent, that the DNA evidence supported it and that the victim in the case had falsely accused other men in the past of rape and had admitted to her daughter and her boyfriend that she had falsely accused these other men, so we were allowed to bring that into evidence that showed she was lying here as well.”

During tearful testimony on Wednesday in which Moss stopped at points to sob, she testified she had never reported what Green allegedly did to her years ago because Green told her no one would believe her. Moss initially hesitated to report him raping her two years ago, she said. Later that day, after Moss met with a friend, went shopping, did laundry and talked to another man, she realized what could happen if she continued to keep silent, she said.

The trial began Monday afternoon. The jury deliberated for about three hours Friday afternoon.

The district attorney’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

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