A Harvard man was found not guilty Tuesday of sexually assaulting a girl in October 2019.

It took a McHenry County jury less than an hour to deliberate on the matter Tuesday before returning the not guilty verdicts for Nicholas Acevedo, 40, of the zero to 100 block of North Ayer Street.

Acevedo faced charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual abuse. The girl testified against Acevedo Tuesday and detailed the encounter, which she said took place in October 2019.

The girl said she was playing a video game late one night in her room alone when Acevedo knocked on the door with alcoholic drinks in-hand. The girl testified that he came in and sat on the bed, saying in a series of escalating action, he eventually began engaging in sexual activity against her will.

Along with the girl, several people with ties to Acevedo, including relatives of the girl, testified across Monday and Tuesday. Prosecutors also pointed to a predatory criminal sexual assault conviction where he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old in Cook County.

Acevedo also took the stand in his own defense Tuesday, and when asked by prosecutors, if the girl had made up the incident, he said “yes.”

Acevedo’s defense attorneys pointed out inconsistencies in the girl’s testimony and emphasized the lack of physical evidence. In closing arguments, McHenry County Public Defender Ryan Ahern said the girl’s testimony “is not credible.”

Some inconsistencies the defense note included what kind of pajama pants the girl said she was wearing throughout her interviews with police, detectives and what she said on the stand. The type of alcohol that was brought into the room also changed throughout those interviews, Ahern said.

The girl testified that she waited until August 2020, more than 10 months after the incident, to tell anyone the full story of what happened.

She waited, prosecutors said, because she was scared, but the defense said the story was used as a way to get Acevedo out of the house after a falling out between Acevedo and another adult in the home.

Acevedo is also charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, which the indictment alleges took place with somebody under the age of 13 in 2018.

That case is ongoing and up for a status hearing Wednesday morning.