The allegation had been that Hawking, 43, touched the woman’s vagina while in her bedroom, where he was investigating a break-in committed by the woman’s ex-boyfriend at her Wangaratta home.

He denied the rape ever occurred.

Hawking and his wife smiled, breathed a sigh of relief and gave each other a kiss after the verdict was handed down in Wangaratta Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Magistrate David Faram said after listening to four days of evidence and watching Hawking’s police interview, he did not believe a jury could find him guilty.

“The evidence of the complainant in these matters was, in my view, highly questionable,” he said.

“I do not consider the accusation against Mr Hawking sustainable. In large part it lacks credibility, in large part it is unreliable.”

Defence barrister Jason Gullaci had argued the charges should be dismissed without going to trial because allegations made by the woman were weak and lacked truthfulness.

“On their evidence, they don’t get anywhere near a case to put before a jury,” he said.

Mr Gullaci spent the fourth day of the committal hearing questioning the alleged victim’s credibility.

She initially claimed her ex-partner had broken into her home through a toilet window on February 7 – an incident which led Hawking and other police to attend the home to investigate.

“On the triple zero call she’s twice heard saying … ‘he’s come through the window and bashed me’,” Mr Gullaci said.

“Then she’s said ‘oh no I got it wrong, I let him in to go to the toilet’.”

He asked why Detective Sergeant Roger Willems, the Victoria Police professional standards investigator, did not include her triple zero call on his brief of evidence against Hawking.

“You have, I suggest, made a deliberate decision not to raise anything about the reason police were called to the address because it raises questions about the credibility of the victim,” Mr Gullaci said.

Detective Willems denied this, saying the break-in was a separate incident.

He said there was no DNA evidence of the alleged rape from February 7 because it was reported a week later.

The woman made the claims to police after she had been arrested for stealing petrol.

Mr Faram ordered Victoria Police pay Hawking’s legal fees, with a sum to be agreed between the parties.