He initially pleaded the fifth. Then the judge gave him immunity from prosecution so that he would speak. This guy didn't think his media interview would be big news at all.
‘I didn’t lie to get on this jury. If I lied deliberately, I wouldn’t have told a soul’
www.independent.co.uk
The abuse had occurred when he was nine or 10 years old, and was committed by a relative and their friend, he said. The relative was no longer a part of the family, he said.
He told his mother about the abuse a few years later in high school, and she reported it to the police. But no charges were ever brought.
Earlier, he was asked whether he had followed an instructional video Judge Nathan had taped that was shown to jurors on 4 November.
“Were you concerned with following my instructions?” the judge asked.
“Absolutely not,” he replied, drawing gasps from the courtroom.
Scotty David said he first became aware that there had been questions about sexual abuse in the jury form after an article came out written for
The Independent by Lucia Osborne-Crowley.
He said he only mentioned the abuse during the interview because he had wanted to describe his understanding of how historic sexual abuse could have effected the victims’ testimony.
Scotty David said he didn’t like talking about his abuse, and that he didn’t think his family would ever see the interview.
Judge Nathan quizzed him about how he could “reconcile” telling media about his history of abuse when he said he hadn’t told many people about it.
Scotty David replied that he didn’t think a “little article about a juror would be record breaking or really in the news at all”.
Scotty David denied he had tailored his answers to try to get on the jury, or that his experiences had affected his deliberations in any way.
“Were you thinking you’d personally benefit by being on the jury?” Judge Nathan asked.
“No,” Scotty David replied.
“I didn’t think this would happen. I didn’t lie to get on this jury. If I lied deliberately, I wouldn’t have told a soul.”
All potential jurors in the case had been asked to fill out a screening form during Voire Dire that asked: “Have you or a friend or family member ever been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault?”
Scotty David checked “No”, and later said in interviews he did not remember being asked that question.
www.nbcnewyork.com
