The state dropped all 25 charges against an 81-year-old Portsmouth man accused of sexually assaulting a female relative in the 1960s and 1970s, his attorney said Tuesday.

Portsmouth attorney James E. Ritzo said Rockingham County Attorney James Reams granted the defense motion to dismiss the charges against Souran B. Manougian because the statute of limitations expired.

Ritzo filed a motion last month asking the charges be dismissed.

Manougian was arrested in March on 25 felonies accusing him of forcible rape, sodomy, witness tampering, aggravated assault and criminal restraint.

The alleged victim claimed Manougian abused her between the ages of 5 and 14 and reported the abuse to her mother and a local attorney when she was 14.

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