Air Force Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski was acquitted late Wednesday evening of assault and battery on a woman outside a strip club in Arlington County in May.
The seven-member jury deliberated for about one hour after prosecution and defense made closing arguments in the case. Krusinski was fired from his job as chief of the Air Force's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response branch at the Pentagon after his arrest in May.
According to the police report at the time, a drunken Krusinski allegedly grabbed the breasts and buttocks of a woman in a parking lot near the Crystal City Gentleman's Club and Restaurant, which is located about two miles from the Pentagon.
Krusinski originally was charged with sexual battery. Commonwealth's Attorney Theo Stamos said the charge was swapped for assault and battery because prosecutors believed they could make a better case for that since it does not require proving the touching was done by force of threat, intimidation or ruse.
The jury decided otherwise.
