A member of the jury that deadlocked in the trial of a San Jose State University athletic trainer accused of sexually abusing female athletes places blame on one juror in particular, claiming she wouldn't even consider the evidence.
The juror, who spoke exclusively with NBC Bay Area and asked not to be identified, was one of the jurors in the federal criminal case against trainer Scott Shaw, who faced six misdemeanor counts of inappropriately touching female athletes under the guise of athletic treatment.
Eight student athletes testified that Shaw touched or fondled them. Shaw pled not guilty.
The jury voted overwhelmingly for guilty but deadlocked on five of the charges 10-2 and 11-1 on the other.
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The man who spoke to NBC Bay Area said one juror influenced another to go along with her from the start, creating conflicts in the jury room right away.
"She just made it clear that she was not going to budge," the juror said. "We sent our first note to Judge Freeman within an hour of our first deliberation because it was obvious that she was digging in and wasn’t going anywhere."
"She said she didn’t trust the witnesses and she didn’t believe them," the juror continued.
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Legal analyst Steven Clark said that type of conduct is significant.
"When the U.S. attorney reviews the juror information as to what went on in the jury room, I think they will consider refiling the charges because it appears that they had a strong case," Clark said.
The juror NBC Bay Area talked to said he’s disappointed for the athletes.
"Listening to these women up there baring their souls in public for something that was traumatic for them and to not get a fair trial, I don’t think they got a fair trial out of it and that really bothers me," he said. "It’s not how our system works."
The U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately say whether it will retry the case. Shaw’s attorney told reporters he expects to return to court.
