The Denton County district attorney’s office said Tuesday that prosecutors will retry former Texas Rangers pitcher John Wetteland’s sexual abuse case, which ended in a mistrial last week

Denton County, Texas – The case against former Texas Rangers pitcher John Wetteland for sexual assault, which resulted in a mistrial a week ago, will be retried, according to a statement released by the office of the district attorney for Denton County on Tuesday.

Wetteland, 56, was accused by a relative of coercing him to carry out a sexual act on him three times between the years of 2004 and 2006, commencing when the boy was just 4 years old. The complainant stated that the assault took place in the shower of Wetteland’s master bathroom at his home in Bartonville, which is approximately ten miles south of Denton.

On Friday, deliberations took place in the courthouse of Denton County for almost to eight hours. The jury was composed of nine males and three women. The jury was split 10-2, leading to the judge of the state district court to proclaim a mistrial. Derek Adame, who represented Wetteland, Wetteland’s attorney, stated that the majority of jurors intended to find his client not guilty.

First Assistant District Attorney Jamie Beck stated on Tuesday that prosecutors intend to proceed with the case, but that “whether negotiated plea bargain or retrial will be up to [Wetteland]” is ultimately up to the defendant.

Wetteland is facing three charges of aggravated sexual assault on a child, each of which is a separate charge. If he is tried again and found guilty, he might spend the rest of his life behind bars.

“We feel that a retrial will greatly favor our side since now we know the entirety of the state’s case,” said Adame, “and we look forward to the opportunity to fight the case again if the state decides to go forward with a new trial.” “We feel that a retrial will greatly favor our side since now we know the entirety of the state’s case.”

The defense presented its case over the course of three days of hearing, arguing that the accuser, who is now 22 years old and resides outside of the state, was a dramatic, “spoiled brat,” and that she was pushed to make false charges against Wetteland.

Wetteland, who provided testimony in his defense, claimed that the accuser’s stepfather was the mastermind behind the falsehood that was told about him.

The prosecutor’s office presented the accuser in a positive light, arguing that he had nothing to gain by coming forward with the allegations and that he should be believed. According to the testimony provided by the man’s mother, he has never denied making the allegations of sexual abuse.

In his testimony from the previous week, the accuser stated that he did not wish to involve law authorities. Instead, he disclosed the abuse in a letter that was only meant to be read by his personal family members. His mother stated in her testimony that she urged him to compose the letter as a manner of providing closure to the situation.

According to the testimony presented, an investigation was launched after the accuser’s high school became aware of the assault accusations in January 2019. A letter that was created in Google Docs and linked to his school-issued email account was detected as suspicious by the district software.

Wetteland was a pitcher in the major leagues for a total of 12 years, competing for four different teams. After winning the Most Valuable Player award in the World Series in 1996 with the New York Yankees, he went on to sign with the Texas Rangers.

He played until the end of the 2000 season before going into retirement, and his franchise record of 150 saves has not been broken.

In 2005, Wetteland was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame. Prior to that, he worked for the organization as a coach and in front office operations in the early 2000s. The club has severed all official relations with him as of recently.