SALEM – A Superior Court jury returned a split verdict Tuesday, finding a Peabody man innocent of the most serious charge of attempted rape, but guilty of improperly fondling and assaulting his estranged wife in her home last year.Victor M. Quadros, 36, of 1 North Central St., Peabody, went on trial last week on charges of assault with intent to rape, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14, as well as two counts of assault and battery in connection with an incident at his estranged wife’s Lynn home in September 2009.A jury comprised of four women and eight men deliberated for about seven hours over two days before finding Quadros innocent of the most serious charge of attempted rape, but guilty on all the remaining four other charges.Quadros, wearing a two-piece charcoal-gray suit, white shirt, tie and black lace shoes, showed no emotion as the foreman read aloud the verdict shortly after noon.Judge Howard J. Whitehead delayed sentencing until Friday afternoon, Oct. 1 in Salem Superior Court.In the meantime, Quadros, who has been held in custody without bail since being arraigned last November, was remanded to the custody of the sheriff pending his sentencing.Assistant District Attorney Christina Pujals Ronan presented evidence during trial that Quadros had fondled and assaulted his wife on the night of Sept. 11, 2009.The 34-year-old victim testified that Quadros, who had been living with his father in Peabody, called his estranged wife and asked if he could come over to get some of his belongings and she consented. The couple had been separated for a few weeks.Quadros arrived at around 10:30 p.m. Once inside, he began begging her on his knees to take him back. But when she refused, his tone changed and he said to her, “You’re going to get raped tonight,” she testified during the trial.He then grabbed her, pushed her down to the ground twice and began touching her inappropriately without her consent as he attempted to force her to have sex. At some point, she was able to free herself, grab a cell phone and call 911.Defense lawyer David Grimaldi challenged the victim’s version of events, maintaining that the “assault never happened” and that the victim was “falsely accusing her husband,” but the jury was not totally convinced of his theory.Quadros did not take the stand in his own defense.