After all these days of watching Court TV....it was my turn.....my turn to serve my community by sitting on the jury of a man accused of 3 counts of unlawful sexual conduct and 3 counts of unlawful sexual battery with a girl 15 years old.....he was 44. He was her horseback riding instructor. The two day trial was gruelling for me. Those who know me know Pat and I have been involved helping sexual abuse victimes for over 30 years.....yet I also was involved in a case in which a minor accused one of the Toboso teachers of the same conduct. The female teacher escaped the loss of her career and the devastation of her life because she was innocent and the case was dismissd before it went to trial.....So there I sat Wednesday and Thursday........listening to the compelling evidence for and against this girl's claim. She said/He said.....and we the jury were to have to decide who was telling the truth. HEAVY STUFF! Although I can give the final result in a sentence....the process was exhausting. (I woke up at 4 AM the second day thinking it would be a hung jury). .....And what if we made the wrong decision....what if we sent an innocent man to jail.....or didn't vindicate a 15 year old who's life would either way be permenantly affected.....and the hard evidence was slim. In the jury room we all introduced ourselves and then began the hard work of sorting it all out.....every sentence...every witness....every detail.....his story.....her story......and then.....the tape. The detectives had the girl call him and tell him she had reported his behavior to a local church youth leader. It was he who called the police. The reaction of the accused man was immediate and spontaneous....."YOU MUST LIE".....he told her....."if you don't I'll be sent to jail!" The rest of the story can be read in the two day story in the advocate at the following links....http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071025/NEWS01/710250328
and
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071025/UPDATES01/71025035
The "rest of the story" for me includes:
- I realize even more how the male sex drive and very poor judgement can cause some men to do stupid, awful, family destroying....innocence destroying....unlawful things.
- An appreciation for the youth leader who "did the right thing," the social workers, Kid's Assessment Team, police, prosecution and defence attorneys, judge and fellow jurors that are at the backbone of a process that makes this country great.
I will never be quite the same having had this experience.
