Ore. university official acquitted in trial

HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) - Oregon jurors have acquitted a Pacific University vice president who had been accused of sexually abusing two young girls.

The Oregonian reports (https://is.gd/LEpzbG ) that Washington County Circuit Court jurors deliberated for about three hours Tuesday before reaching their verdict in the case of 48-year-old Michael Mallery.

Mallery had been charged with five counts of first-degree sex abuse in a case that police said involved two relatives.

The defense attributed the allegations to a longstanding family dispute that lawyers said could have influenced the girls’ reports of abuse.

Mallery was in tears after Judge Thomas Kohl read the verdict.

Pacific University is located in Forest Grove, west of Portland.

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Information from: The Oregonian, https://www.oregonlive.com