A Ballarat jury has acquitted a man accused of molesting a seven-year-old boy.
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After a four-day trial at the County Court in Ballarat, the jury acquitted the man on Tuesday of one count of an indecent act with or in the presence of a child under 16.
The man, who The Courier has chosen not to name due to legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to the offence.
During the trial, the prosecution alleged the man was living at the boy's house for three months in 2016 when he went into the child's bedroom and touched him inappropriately.
Defence barrister Anthony Pyne told the jury his client maintained his innocence from the police interview to now.
He said the prosecution witnesses, including the boy's parents and grandfather, were unreliable.
It was the man's second trial after the first jury could not reach a verdict.
