It took a jury one hour and 45 minutes on Thursday to find a Wakeman man not guilty of two counts of sexual battery in connection with the alleged sexually assault of an 18-year-old college student who had been drinking.

The jury of seven men and five women began deliberating at 4 p.m. Thursday. They returned a not-guilty verdict for Cory N. Puder, 23, of 941 Jarvis Road, Wakeman at 5:45 p.m.

(NOTE - To see photos of the trial, click HERE.)

Huron County Prosecutor Russell Leffler said he was disappointed with the verdict.

"We put up what (evidence) we had," he said. "You can always second-guess yourself as to what you might do different."

Leffler said jurors told him they didn't have enough evidence to be certain that Puder raped the young woman.

Leffler also said that Puder testified very well on direct examination from his attorney, Ed Rhode.

After the verdict was announced, the victim ran out of the courtroom, crying, and her father was disappointed, Leffler said.

"I want to stand up for women that are attacked, but these are very difficult cases," the prosecutor said, adding it is tough for them to have to endure cross examinations.

The trial began on Tuesday.

The defendant denied coercing the girl, who had been drinking, into having sex with him.

The case stems from a Dec. 29, 2010 incident at a rural Collins apartment.

Puder testified Thursday he and the alleged victim were kissing and involved in heavy petting while laying on a couch, but even though they didn't have sex, they were close to it.

"She unbuckled her pants. I took that as an invitation," Puder said, who also mentioned that the woman "was enjoying" what they were doing.

After they were on the floor, "she said, 'What are you doing?' She didn't yell at me," he said. "I tried to help get her dressed. ... I didn't know what went through her mind."

He said, she said

The victim, now 19, testified Wednesday, saying she was sleeping on the couch after playing Beer Pong with her best friend, Puder and his best friend and woke up on her back next to the couch with her pants and underpants pulled down.

"He was over me. ... His pants were pulled down," the victim said.

"I yelled, 'What are you doing?,'" she said from the stand Wednesday. "He jumped back like he was shot. ... He pulled my underwear up for me and I told him to get away."

"Did you honor her wishes at that time?," Rhode asked Puder.

"Yes, I did," the defendant said. "As soon as she raised the red flag, I backed off."

The young people played Beer Pong in the kitchen before the incident. The victim said she took her pillow with her and fell asleep on the couch in the living room because she didn't want to drink any more.

After the game concluded, the others cleaned up the bottles of beer and wine coolers. Puder said he and his accuser talked for a while before they started making out on the couch.

"She was awake, alert, aware of everything going on around her," Puder said Thursday.

"I was asleep. He took advantage of me. I don't know if that's coercing," the victim said Wednesday.

After the incident, she went into the bedroom where her best friend and her boyfriend were after the game. Witnesses said the victim was crying and initially wouldn't say what was wrong.

"Do you want this jury to believe you were the perfect gentleman?," Leffler asked Puder.

There was a slight pause before the defendant replied: "I am a gentleman." He later said that means he is a gentleman and doesn't talk about what he did or didn't do with a woman.

Affection beforehand?

Puder's mother shook her head as Leffler, during his closing argument Thursday, said Puder needed to lie about conversing with the victim before the incident in order to make the jury believe there was a romantic conversation before he attempted to "score with her." Leffler said the victim didn't recall talking to Puder at all when she was on the couch and she has the right to be left alone while sleeping.

"She didn't invite this man to have sex with her. ... He attacked a sleeping woman," Leffler told the jury. "She doesn't have to put up with this garbage."

The best friends and victim testified there had been no flirting with Puder during the game and the only time he touched the victim was to put his arm around her neck, as if to say, "Good job."

"There was a hug or two. That was about it," Puder said when his attorney asked him if his accuser was affectionate toward him during the game.

"Socially, it was just friends getting together. I asked (my best friend) who was going to be there. He said he'd get a girl over there for me -- to be with socially," Puder said. "No one was drunk enough even to get buzzed."

Leffler asked the defendant if his accuser did anything during the game to indicate she was interested in him.

Puder said the victim told his best friend and her best friend, who were dating at the time, "she thought I was good looking and I could give it a shot," he said.

Puder provided two written statements to the Huron County Sheriff's Office and was interviewed for several hours. He said he was respectful to deputies because he "wanted to discredit the allegations against me."

The defendant testified he had to submit a second statement because deputies requested more details since there wasn't enough information in his first one to discredit either Puder or his accuser.

Sheriff Dane Howard joined one of the interviews. According to the defendant, Howard told Puder it was obvious he "penetrated" the victim and as a result, left "microscopic bruises" on her body.

"I didn't even touch her like that," Puder said.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Reflector Staff Writer Aaron Krause contributed to this story