Boston rape trial: Judge declares mistrial after jury unable to reach decision

Irish Times

6 hours ago

A jury has been unable to reach a verdict in the case of the Dublin firefighter accused of raping a US woman in Boston over St Patrick's Day weekend last year.
Terence Crosbie (38) was on trial for raping a 29-year-old attorney in a shared hotel room while his Dublin Fire Brigade colleague Liam O'Brien slept.
On Friday afternoon, when the jury of eight men and four women returned to the courtroom to outline that they they could not reach a verdict, the judge said: 'I find that this jury is hung.'
After more than 22 hours of deliberation over four days the jury of eight men and four women were unable to reach a decision.
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On Friday afternoon, following queries by the jury and statements that they could not reach a verdict, judge Sarah Ellis said: 'I declare that this jury is deadlocked and I declare a mistrial.'
His next trial is set for October 14th. After declaring a mistrial Judge Ellis increased Mr Crosbie's bail from $10,000 to $50,000 declaring Mr Crosbie to be a flight risk. 'The state of the evidence is no longer speculative in this case,' Judge Ellis said.
Mr Crosbie was one of more than 10 members of Dublin Fire Brigade who flew into Boston on March 14th to participate in the St Patrick's Day parade.
The woman alleged that later that night she met Mr O'Brien at The Black Rose bar, returned with him to the Omni Parker House hotel, had consensual sex and fell asleep in separate beds.
She alleged she awoke to a man she did not know raping her and disparaging Mr O'Brien who was snoring.
'I know you want this; [Mr O'Brien] can't even do this for you – what a loser,' she claimed Mr Crosbie said.
The complainant and Mr Crosbie both testified during the five-day trial.
Prosecutors said the complainant's testimony that she 'woke up' with a man raping her was supported by CCTV footage of Mr Crosbie entering the hotel room at the time in question and the complainant leaving 20 minutes later.
Just because the woman went home with Mr O'Brien 'doesn't mean that that man's hotel roommate gets to rape her', prosecutor Erin Murphy told the court.
Mr Crosbie 'isn't the unluckiest man in the world; he is the man who raped,' she said.
His defence lawyer Daniel C Reilly asked jurors to end Mr Crosbie's 'nightmare' with an acquittal.
Mr Crosbie was steadfast in his denial of the assault, insisting through his attorneys, police interviews and his own testimony that he 'didn't touch' the woman.
'There was nobody in my bed - my bed was empty,' Mr Crosbie told the court.
'I had no physical or sexual contact with her at all'.
Mr Crosbie insisted that words the complainant attributed to the assailant such as 'loser' was 'not an Irish term'.
His defence team called into question DNA evidence collected from the woman. Analysts found two male profiles but could not conclusively identify Mr Crosbie as the second male contributor.
The defence also sought to discredit the woman's account citing 'gaps' in her memory, insisting she was inebriated and questioning her about psychiatric medication in cross examination.
Mr Crosbie has been held at the Nashua Street jail in Boston since his arrest on March 16th, 2024.