A U.S. Air Force officer who headed the service's sex assault prevention office when he was criminally accused of groping a woman was cleared of a misdemeanor assault charge in connection with the incident.

A seven-member jury in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday found Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, 42, not guilty following a trial over parts of two days.

"We're disappointed, but that's how the jury system works," Commonwealth Attorney Theo Stamos said in a brief interview.