A Suffolk County jury has acquitted the former security guard accused of throwing an 11-year-old girl on the ground and assaulting her after she was suspected of shoplifting at a Primark store in Downtown Crossing in 2019, according to defense lawyers and prosecutors.
Mohammed Khan of Cambridge was found not guilty on Tuesday of assault and battery on a child under 14 and a misdemeanor civil rights violation.
The alleged assault lasted more than seven minutes and occurred on June 9, 2019 at the Primark location at 10 Summer St., after the girl allegedly admitted to taking clothing from the store valued at approximately $175.
“The case garnered national and international attention after a bystander video with obstructed view went viral,” Khan’s defense lawyers at Demissie and Church said Wednesday in a statement.
“The video, however, captured a very small part of the incident from an obstructed view and led to an erroneous misconception of what took place,” the lawyers said. “Using Primark’s surveillance video from different angles, the jury was able to see what really took place and exonerated Mr. Khan.”
The 6-foot-1-inch, 225-pound Khan, who was 36 at the time, was accused of grabbing the girl by her head and neck, throwing her to the ground, and punching her in the face while straddling her.
Prosecutors said Khan sought to re-engage in the struggle with the girl even after Boston Police officers had separated them.
Khan’s employer, Securitas Security Services USA Inc. had previously reprimanded Khan four times for excessive use of force. Khan was barred from having contact with shoplifters 10 days before the alleged assault.
Securitas was indicted on the same charges as Khan, but prosecutors struck a deal with the company in May 2021 and agreed to drop the charges in exchange for better training of its guards and special police officers.
The charges against Securitas were formally dismissed on May 5, court records show.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.