FARMINGTON - A jury of eight men and four women in Franklin County Superior Court on Tuesday found a Waterville man not guilty of sexually abusing a teenage girl and furnishing her with marijuana and alcohol.

Jeffrey Thompson, 29, was extremely happy with the late-afternoon verdict, his attorney, Kevin Joyce, said.

The one-day trial addressed charges made against Thompson in February 2007 that he had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl in Wilton and provided her with marijuana and alcohol.

Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson told the jury that Thompson was told more than once how old the girl was but denied knowing her age or having a relationship with her, when asked by police last year.

Joyce countered that Thompson believed the girl was older because she had been released from guardianship after her mother died, had a child 14 months old and was living on her own in Wilton.

Thompson met the girl in Waterville and began a relationship with her, Robinson told the jury, and moved into the Wilton home with her and her two roommates.

After Wilton police responded to a verbal dispute at the house in February 2007, the officer was told that the 15-year-old girl was having sex with a 28-year-old man, which led to an investigation and arrest by Franklin County sheriff's Detective David St. Laurent.

The girl testified Tuesday that she told Thompson she was 15 and that he brought alcohol and marijuana to the house to smoke with her and one of the roommates. She said they were engaged for a couple months, but she ended the relationship when she became pregnant and he wanted her to have an abortion.

The girl's sister told the jury that Thompson was present when she and some friends were discussing the fact that the girl had a child at the age of 13, and he responded by saying he thought she was older.

One roommate testified to seeing Thompson, the girl and the other roommate smoking in the car, but Joyce said Thompson admitted to smoking with the roommate, who furnished the marijuana. Thompson does not drink, and a police search of the house did not reveal any liquor bottles or drug paraphernalia, he said.

In closing, Robinson told the jury to compare the testimony of both sides.

Joyce told the jury his client thought usually someone had to be at least 16 to be freed from guardianship, that the girl already had a 14-month-old baby, was living on her own and asked others if she looked young. He said that Thompson's denial of the relationship during police interviews was not honest but was understandable, mentioning presidents and other men who do the same when confronted.

The jury deliberated a little over an hour before agreeing on the non guilty verdict.