A TEENAGER falsely accused of rape is angry he was named in press reports of his trial, while his female accuser’s anonymity remains protected by the law.

Kyle Cresswell, 18, wants the law changed so others in his position don’t have their lives turned upside down as his was.

Mr Cresswell and his family were overcome with relief when he was cleared after a five-day trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

But after spending 13 agonising months waiting for a chance to clear his name, he feels ill-served by the system.

He said: “I felt I was regarded as guilty until I was proven not guilty.”

The law protects the identities of people who complain of being raped – even after their alleged attackers are cleared, while the accused are usually named in the media. The identity of defendants in rape cases were also protected until the law was changed in the late Seventies.

The Cameron Government originally promised to restore this measure, but has since ruled it out.

Mr Cresswell said: “As it is, the system is unfair. I think both names should go in the paper.”

After being charged, Mr Cresswell was freed on bail on an electronic tag – but told he could no longer live in Witham.

It meant he lost his housing association flat and had to sleep on a friend’s sofa in Halstead.

Other bail conditions prevented him visiting his family, playing football in Witham, or continuing his studies at New Rickstones Academy. He was forced to go to classes in Chelmsford instead.

Mr Cresswell was cleared of raping a 21-year-old woman in Witham, after the jury accepted his testimony she had consented to sex.

Mr Creswell said: “It was nerve-racking and scary, standing up and waiting to see what the jury was going to say.

“I would rather jump out of a plane than go through that again.

“Now I feel I can go out with my head held high and I’m rebuilding my life.”

Mr Cresswell’s mother, Tracy White, 39, said: “It is so unfair someone can make an allegation and it can go on for so long.

“Kyle has had 13 months of his life taken away.

“The night he was arrested, I was also concerned about the backlash it would have on our home. I just had visions of windows being smashed, but we have had so much support from everyone around here.”