Jörg Kachelmann denied charges but country was captivated by claims about his private life
A celebrity weatherman has been acquitted of rape charges, judges said, after a high-profile trial that captivated the German media and public over the last year.
Jörg Kachelmann, a 52-year-old TV weatherman, denied the charges by state prosecutors that he raped his former girlfriend, 37, at knifepoint in February 2010 just before he flew to Canada to work at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Kachelmann, a Swiss national, was arrested at Frankfurt airport on returning, leading to a case that stunned Germany. Details of his private life have filled newspaper columns and TV news broadcasts since.
Prosecutors had demanded a prison term for Kachelmann of four years and three months. His defence lawyer argued it was consensual sex.
"There was no other verdict that this court could reach," the weatherman's lawyer, Johann Schwenn, told reporters afterwards. "Mr Kachelmann has been treated in a most shabby fashion."
Kachelmann is Germany's top weatherman and famed for his rumpled appearance and entertaining reports. His trial had dominated its media for the last nine months.
Kachelmann admitted he was not monogamous but denied charges he raped the 37-year-old radio host. But that failed to dampen the interest of papers and public alike over reports of his private life.
Kachelmann said he had consensual sex just before the girlfriend discovered he was having an affair and ended their relationship. Prosecutors said he raped her at knifepoint after she learned of the affair.
Media coverage has included reports claiming he was seeing 14 different women simultaneously.