A former sheriff’s deputy in a central Mississippi county has been acquitted of charges accusing him of having sex with inmates.

A Smith County jury on Wednesday found Robert Thompson not guilty of two counts of sex between law enforcement and an offender.

Thompson had been indicted on the charges, accusing him of having sex with two women who were county jail inmates in 2017 with the inmates’ consent.

If convicted Thompson would have faced up to five years in prison for each count and a maximum of $10,000 in fines.