A Bahamas man who has admitted to killing a gay, HIV-positive man is free after a jury agreed the murder was induced by the threat of rape, reports The Nassau Guardian.

Frederick Green-Neely, 25, told a jury in Nassau that he stabbed Dale Williams after he grabbed his genitals inside Williams' Bain Town apartment in 2004.

Dorsey McPhee, lawyer for the defense, said the killing was justified because his client was “defending his manhood.”

“This man deserves to go home to be with his family,” McPhee told the jury. “The death, we are saying, was justified. Show the nation you don't impose yourself on somebody, because one day you just might meet the wrong person.”

The two men knew each other before the Feb. altercation and Green-Neely told jurors that he was “cool” with Williams, whom he knew was gay and HIV-positive. On February 9, 2004, Green-Neely stopped at Williams' store to purchase a Valentine's Day gift basket for his girlfriend and their newborn baby, but the store was busy and Green-Neely agreed to return later.

At about 11PM, Green-Neely returned to the store and accepted an invitation to enter Williams' studio apartment.

Sitting across from each other, one on a couch, the other on the bed, Williams confessed he had a crush on him and, Green-Neely says, grabbed his crotch. A struggle ensued between the two men during which he stabbed Williams three times.

Green-Neely and his wife were moved to tears when the jury foreman announced that he had been acquitted of Williams' murder.