EL PASO, Texas -- After a day and a half of deliberations, the jury came back with a not guilty verdict for Father Philip Taban on Thursday. Taban is the Catholic priest accused of raping an 18-year-old woman.

He was arrested in September 2007 after accusations of sexual assault against a teenage parishioner seeking spiritual advice surfaced. A group of parishioners from Mother Cabrini Church, where Taban worked, supported him from the beginning.

"Legally, we understood that he had done no wrong. He made a mistake, he acknowledged he made a mistake and whatever he did is between him and God. He will look for his forgiveness," said Luis Gallegos, a Mother Cabrini parishioner.

Taban's defense attorney argued that the sex was consensual and there's nothing illegal about that. The defense showed as evidence an e-mail, texts and dozens of phone calls from the alleged victim to Taban after their sexual encounters.

"It wasn't easy for the church or for us. There was a lot of mixed emotions as Catholics we know what he did was wrong," said Gallegos.

Taban came as a visiting priest from Uganda. Now that he's been cleared from all counts he will be deported to his county because his visa expired while he was in jail awaiting trial.

"We hope that Father Taban can go on with his life and follow his dream and continue to be a priest and get his master's in Rome," said Gallegos.

The Catholic Diocese didn't have a comment about the verdict but they did say Taban no longer has permission to function as a priest in El Paso and he should return to his bishop in Uganda.

A representative of El Paso's only rape crisis center, STARS (Sexual Trauma and Assault Response Service), was present through out the trial. They want to remind the public they can receive help at the center. One can call 915-533-7700.