Cork sexual assault re-trial collapses after juror researches defendant's background on Facebook

A middle-aged man was on trial having denied two charges of sexual assault and one of child cruelty

The judge said: 'If it went forward it would be unfair to the complainant and to the accused.' File picture

A juror breached his oath in the course of deliberations in a sexual assault trial at Cork Circuit Criminal Court by searching the background of the accused on Facebook.

This caused the immediate collapse of the trial on Friday which started on Monday, February 10, and where they began their deliberations on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 12. At least one of the witnesses had travelled from overseas especially for the trial.

Judge Sinead Behan discharged the jury at lunchtime today.

The foreman of the jury brought the breach to the attention of a member of An Garda Síochána assigned to the jury to be present outside their jury room, accompany them in and out of court and to lunch. This guard informed prosecution barrister Brendan Kelly who raised the matter in court.

Mr Kelly said: “One of the jurors checked information on the accused on Facebook. The jury should be discharged. It is a very difficult situation, it is a breach of the juror’s oath.” Defence barrister Alan O’Dwyer agreed that the jury would have to be discharged.

Judge Behan said: “This is a very unfortunate situation. It was outlined by the foreman in a proper and responsible manner that one of the jurors checked Facebook for information on the defendant and (the foreman) said this could influence their verdict.

“The jury had been warned on several occasions not to make any enquiries and to restrict their deliberations to what they heard in court.

“If it went forward it would be unfair to the complainant and to the accused. It would allow matters — no part of this case — to come into their deliberations. It would be unfair. If convicted it would be grounds for appeal. If found not guilty, the complainant would have good reason to feel aggrieved.

This is not the fault of anyone except the juror who made the searches.

The middle-aged man was put on trial on Monday having denied two charges of sexual assault and one of child cruelty in respect of a complainant who was aged around 14 at the time of the alleged incidents in 2013.

Judge Behan said to the jury that they had been warned about not accessing any material outside of the trial. 

“It is essential to ensure the integrity of the justice system that they only deliberate on the facts of the case. To do otherwise would be unfair to the accused and the complainant in this case,” she said. 

To make matters worse, this trial was a re-trial, the judge said, adding: “It is incredibly regrettable that a member of the jury disregarded the warnings given when he was taking his oath.”