Baghdad , Iraq ( CNN ) -- A military judge Friday found Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe , one of three Navy SEALs accused in the alleged beating an Iraqi detainee , not guilty , a military spokesman said . Keefe was accused of dereliction of duty for not preventing abuse of a prisoner . The verdict comes a day after another of the other accused sailors , U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas , was found not guilty of dereliction of duty . Huertas was also charged with impeding an investigation by attempting to influence the testimony of another sailor . In graphic testimony delivered in Huertas ' court-martial earlier this week , the prisoner , Ahmed Hashim Abed , accused Keefe , Huertas and another Navy SEAL -- Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe -- of beating him . Keefe had declined a jury and was found not guilty by a military judge , according to the military spokesman , Terry Conder , Public Affairs Officer for Joint Forces Special Operations Component Command . Huertas was found not guilty Thursday by a military jury . Abed is thought by U.S. authorities to be the mastermind in the slayings and mutilation of four U.S. contractors in Falluja , Iraq , in 2004 , one of the war 's most notorious crimes against Americans . Last January , a military judge ruled that the trials of Keefe and Huertas be held on a base in Iraq . McCabe , who is charged with assault , will be tried May 3 in Norfolk , Virginia . CNN 's Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report .
Spokesman : Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe found not guilty in alleged beating of detainee . The U.S. military has been accused by a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner and his family of using excessive force against him during the course of an interrogation. Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas , was found not guilty of dereliction of duty on Thursday . Ahmed Hashim Abed accused 3 Navy SEALs of beating him in testimony this week .