Lancashire Police have issued a statement after Bill Roache was cleared of historic sex abuse charges today (February 6).
The Coronation Street actor was found not guilty of two counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault after a trial at Preston Crown Court.
Shortly after the verdict, Lancashire Police said that they "entirely respect" the jury's decision and encouraged victims of sexual abuse to report such crimes.
They said: "These very serious allegations were thoroughly and professionally investigated by a team of specialist detectives.
"Lancashire Constabulary worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service from an early stage, and all the evidence was subjected to careful scrutiny before a decision was taken to charge, in the belief that there was sufficient evidence to justify a realistic prospect of conviction.
"The jury has had an opportunity over the course of the trial to hear and fully consider the evidence presented by both the prosecution and the defence.
"We entirely respect the verdict reached by the jury today; the burden of proof in our system is quite rightly very high and we thank them for considering this matter so carefully."
They added: "The Constabulary remain committed to investigating allegations of this nature, no matter how historic, and would encourage anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence to come forward safe in the knowledge that they will be treated sensitively and professionally."
Speaking outside court, Roache thanked the jury for their "speedy recovery" and said that he would "like to get back to work".
Roache has not appeared on screen in Coronation Street since April 2013, when all scenes featuring his character Ken Barlow were dropped following his initial arrest.
A Coronation Street spokesperson told Digital Spy today: "We look forward to talking to Bill soon about his return to work."
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Originally Posted by Snagglepus
They are so funny together.
How come I've been taking my meds"