Three different counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child filed against former MLB closer John Wetteland were dropped as of March 23 following a split-decision jury resulted in a mistrial, according to Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post.
The 56-year-old former relief pitcher was arrested in Jan. 2019 and accused of sexually abusing a child under the age of 14 on three separate occasions between 2004 and 2006.
According to Jamie Landers of The Dallas Morning News, Wetteland was accused of first having the child perform a sexual act on him when the child was four years old.
Wetteland, who was facing up to 25 years in prison if found guilty, denied the accusations.
Following the deadlocked jury, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the case—which was granted—and the Denton County District Attorney's Office (Texas) chose not to file new charges.
A spokesperson told Landers that following information from the jurors and consultations with the person who made the allegations, the district attorney's office determined that its "ability to successfully prosecute the case and reach a different result" was "unlikely."
Wetteland spent 12 seasons in MLB, playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1989-91), Montreal Expos (1992-94), New York Yankees (1995-96) and Texas Rangers (1997-00). He was a three-time All-Star and one-time champion and was named the World Series MVP in 1996.
Following his playing career he served as a bullpen coach for the Washington Nationals (2006) and Seattle Mariners (2008-10).
