The former owner of She-Nannigans, 415 Water St., was found not guilty Tuesday in Eau Claire County Court of second-degree sexual assault of an unconscious female UW-Eau Claire student.

Dominique J. Navarro, 28, formerly of Eau Claire, received the verdict from a jury Tuesday after about three hours of deliberations.

Navarro faced up to 15 years in prison for the early-morning Sept. 29 incident at his then-owned Water Street bar, She-Nannigans. He sold the bar in March after owning it for almost five years.

The sexual assault charges he faced stem from a 20-year-old woman’s accusations that Navarro had sex with her Sept. 29 on the dance floor of She-Nannigans after she passed out following bar close, according to the criminal complaint.

Navarro admitted from the initial accusation that he had sex with the woman and wrote on her with marker when she was unconscious. He has maintained that the woman later consented to sexual intercourse with him on a carpeted area near the bar’s dance floor.

After the trial started Monday with jury selection and the prosecution’s case, it finished Tuesday with the defense’s witnesses, including testimony by Navarro, and both sides’ closing arguments.

Navarro now faces a separate trial by jury scheduled for Nov. 7 in Eau Claire County Court for illegally filling 16 bottles of premium liquors with cheaper versions of the liquors, according to court records. Each of the charges of refilling the liquor carries a potential penalty of a $150 to $500 fine or between 60 days and six months in prison.

Along with those charges, he also faces two felony counts of bail jumping due to violating the terms set for the sexual assault allegation.

For privacy purposes, the name of the female plaintiff was withheld.