SALISBURY, Md. (AP) — A child abuse case against a Maryland high school football coach has ended with a hung jury.

The Daily Times of Salisbury reports that a Wicomico County jury deliberated for more than five hours but couldn’t reach a verdict Thursday in the case of David Nettles.

Nettles denied allegations that he had inappropriately touched his 29-year-old accuser with deep tissue muscle massages when the man was a teenager.

His lawyer says Nettles had cooperated with investigators from the start and that it didn’t make sense that his client would have abused a child in a place where other people were present. The lawyer, Thomas Yeager, says Nettles continues to maintain his innocence.

Nettles says he’s been suspended but not fired from his football coaching job at Wicomico High School.
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