Baltimore maintenance man acquitted in sex-for-repairs case

BALTIMORE -- After a key witness failed to show up in court, a judge has acquitted an ex-maintenance worker of charges that he demanded sex from a woman in exchange for repairs at a public housing unit in Baltimore.

News outlets report the state’s attorney’s office abandoned the case against 62-year-old Doug Hussy after a woman who had accused Hussy did not appear in court Thursday to testify.

The accusations against Hussy were among several raised by female public housing tenants in 2015 that led to a class-action lawsuit. The city housing authority settled the lawsuit last year for up to $8 million.

Hussy had been charged with second-degree assault, fourth-degree sex offense, harassment and misconduct in office.

A second housing worker, Charles Coleman, faces trial on similar charges March 29.