Juror Speaks Out on Jeffrey Gray Trial

A juror for told Patch there wasn't enough evidence to convict Gray on more than one of the seven rape charges against him.

Gray, 50, is awaiting sentencing on that charge of aggravated felonious sexual assault and another charge of simple assault that took place in March 2011 against a 35-year-old New York City woman who was seven-and-a-half months pregnant at the time.

 June 19 but not guilty on six other aggravated felonious sexual assault counts and a kidnapping charge.

Gray responded to the woman's ad looking for a place to live on Craigslist. He took the woman in last March and after three days the woman alleged Gray raped and held her against her will. The next morning he drove her to Logan Airport for her to return to New York, at which point she reported what she said happened to authorities.

Gray admitted to having sex with the woman but claimed it was consensual. The woman said it wasn't, and the rapes involved "mommy and baby" role-playing.

Juror No. 13, who asked not to be identified, felt the prosecution did a better job of presenting their case than Gray's defense attorneys.

"(Prosecutors) really and truly believed her," the juror said. "The other side is just doing what they've got to do to get this guy out of it."

The juror said the one aggravated felonious sexual assault charge for which Gray was convicted took place in the upstairs bedroom of his home and involved the threat of physical force, but not actual physical violence.

Physical evidence recovered from his home included duct tape (which wasn't actually used), used and unused adult diapers and urine-stained bed sheets and a blanket.

Other than that, the juror said there wasn't enough evidence to convict Gray. The juror's understanding was because Gray had told police the sex was consensual, some evidence was not admissable at trial.

During opening arguments, county prosecutor Geoffrey Ward told the jury that if they believed the victim, they could return a guilty verdict "based solely on her testimony."

"There weren't any pictures of bruising, it was not admissable," the juror said. "If it was admissable we could have convicted him on more charges."

If there had been more physical evidence, the juror said Gray would have been "way worse off."

The jury deliberated for all of one day and part of another, and the juror said deliberations were difficult given the "he-said, she-said" nature of the trial.

Some reasonable doubt was created by admitted actions of the woman. The juror said the woman went to the Mall at Rockingham Park with Gray and among other items, she went to Spencer's and purchased a sex toy.

At trial, the woman said she bought the sext toy for herself, but Gray tried to say they bought it together, the juror said.

Additionally, when the woman was communicating with Gray over the Internet prior to her arrival in New England, she sent him a picture of herself wearing a French maid Halloween costume from when she was 26.

"I think she had street smarts but she was naive, too," the juror said.

Still, the juror felt the woman was credible and believeable, saying it was "stressful" hearing her describe the events of her time with Gray.

"I cried when I heard her testimony," the juror said, adding it was clear from testimony that "she didn't want to do crazy role-playing sex."

Jurors also heard an audio tape of the woman's interview with police after she reported the incidents, which Juror No. 13 said backed up the woman's court testimony.

"Other than that, you only would have heard what she had to say (in court)," the juror said. "She was crying and upset on the tape, she was having a hard time talking about it."

There also wasn't enough evidence Gray held the woman against her will, leading to acquittal on the kidnapping charge.

"We felt she had a chance (to leave)," the juror said, citing opportunities throughout the evening and the instance of Gray stopping at a Shell gas station on the way to the airport, leaving her alone in his vehicle.

"She wasn't there that long and then he let her go," the juror said.

She understood why the woman, who was seven-and-a-half months pregnant and in a very unfamiliar area, didn't leave when she may have had opportunities, including when Gray offered to take her to a hotel shortly before the sexual assault.

According to the Eagle-Tribune, Gray will be sentenced Sept. 7. The paper reported Gray faces 10 to 20 years in state prison.