A man who received a nine-year jail sentence for child abuse and rape was wrongly convicted, the forewoman of the jury which heard his case claimed yesterday.
The woman also alleged that the majority of the jurors involved believed the man to be innocent, but were intimidated into changing their minds by three vociferous jury members.
Identified only as "Susan", the woman told RTE Radio's Liveline programme the jurors concerned had conducted a "witch hunt" rather than listen to the facts of the case, and a miscarriage of justice had ensued.
The woman said the case was heard "some time ago" by the jury of seven women and five men. It involved a number of charges of child abuse and rape. When the jury assembled, before the case was heard, "there was one lady who said `he's guilty, you know he's guilty. You've only to look at him' ".
As the five-day trial progressed, this woman became "more and more aggressive", said "Susan". Another female juror was a mystic; palm reading and "everything else supernatural shall we say, or unreal, was brought into this case".
As forewoman, "Susan" said she tried to have the facts of the case discussed every day. "I was getting, as the week went on, more and more upset, extremely frustrated actually, because nobody appeared to be listening to what was being said at all." When she referred to evidence in the man's defence "I was asked would I want to let a rapist loose, a man who would abuse my children?"
She said there were two children ultimately involved in the case, after a third child "withdrew". The case appeared to her to be about a "vendetta between two families". She believed one child was assaulted, but not by the defendant.
The evidence showed there was "no way" the man could have been where he was stated to have been on the dates concerned. "I mean it was there in black and white that I produced, but this woman just kept saying `he's guilty, he's guilty' ".
This woman was supported by another female juror who believed this man was guilty and there was no point going through this again and again and again. Three other people agreed the man was innocent and initially supported her, but were intimidated, she said.
The woman said when the 11person jury - one woman had cried off - began their deliberations, "I'd say six of us believed he was innocent".
After three hours, the judge had called the jury back and told them he would accept a majority (10-1) verdict.
The verdict would always be on her conscience because she had been a coward. "It was a witch hunt and it was not fair. It was not based on facts at all . . . that man was supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. He was not proven guilty."
