A Maryland sheriff who was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of hitting his wife was acquitted Wednesday.

Anne Arundel County Sheriff Ronald Bateman, 54, of Pasadena was charged with second-degree assault after allegedly throwing his wife against a wall and hitting her in the face and mouth during an argument on April 10.

[Sheriff in Anne Arundel arrested and charged in domestic violence case]

According to charging documents, Bateman told a responding police officer that he had been drinking and acknowledged arguing with his wife and holding her down on a bed “in an effort to retrieve the money clip she had taken without his permission.”

He denied hitting her, saying the incident was an “emotional family dispute” during which “no criminal actions took place.”

On Wednesday, Judge Floyd Parks, brought in to Anne Arundel County District Court from Kent County for a bench trial, acquitted Bateman after his wife, Elsie Bateman, declined to testify against her husband and prosecutors declined to put her teenage son, who witnessed the incident, on the stand.

Bateman also agreed to participate in counseling, which is now complete, his attorney said.

The special prosecutor from St. Mary’s County who handled the case did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office, referring questions to St. Mary’s, said it “was not privy to the evidence, investigation or witness interviews conducted in this case.”

Peter O’Neill, an attorney for Bateman, said it was “not unusual” for spouses of defendants in domestic cases to decline to testify against their partners.

“We were certainly pleased with the verdict,” O’Neill said. “Sheriff Bateman and his wife have been through a difficult time in their lives, and he is looking forward to resuming his position as sheriff.”

Bateman, a former Democrat, was reelected to a third term as Anne Arundel sheriff in 2014 after becoming a Republican. The sheriff’s office said he will return to his post after a vacation.

“The judicial process has taken place,” said Col. Rick Tabor, who served as acting sheriff while Bateman limited himself to administrative duties after his arrest. “The sheriff was acquitted, and it’s now time to put this behind us and move forward.”