Security boss at Wigan's hospitals jailed for researching defendant while sitting on jury

Jason Carr, 52, previously worked as a Cheshire police officer but was dismissed for gross misconduct, before joining Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. (WWL).

The Crown Prosecution Service said he researched the background of a defendant charged with serious sexual offences during a trial at Chester Crown Court in April 2022.

It came to light when the other jurors notified the judge, leading to the jury being discharged and the trial relisted, meaning vulnerable witnesses had to give evidence again.

On April 25, 2022, the trial judge directed the jury about their obligations, saying: “The evidence is what you see and hear in this courtroom, it comes from absolutely nowhere else. Do not carry out your own research.”

They were also provided with a leaflet that reminded them that: “As a juror you have taken a LEGAL OATH or AFFIRMATION to try the defendant based ONLY on the evidence you hear in court. It is ILLEGAL for you to LOOK for any information at all about your case on the INTERNET or ANYWHERE ELSE during the trial.”

The jury retired to consider its verdict on April 28, but the following day, two jurors sent a note to the judge saying Carr had tried to convince them they could do their own background research on the case and that he had found out information about the defendant.

After the jury was discharged, the matter was referred to the Attorney General and a police investigation was carried out.

Eight jurors confirmed Carr told them he had done research on the defendant and continued to make disclosures about them.

Police discovered he had made searches on the defendant and the Contempt of Court Act on both his mobile phone and his laptop.

Carr, from Huntington, Chester, had claimed to be a retired police officer, but he had been dismissed by Cheshire Police in 2010 for gross misconduct.

After being charged, he pleaded guilty to two counts of juror misconduct at Liverpool Crown Court and was jailed for six months.

Senior crown prosecutor Adam Till, of CPS Mersey Cheshire’s complex casework unit, said: “Jason Carr’s misconduct during a crown court trial was blatant and deliberate. This had the potential to affect the fairness of the proceedings in this case.

"Despite him expressing his remorse and detailing personal circumstances that led to his conduct, the judge considered his behaviour arrogant and deliberate and so serious to warrant an immediate custodial sentence.

"The integrity of the criminal justice system in this country is dependent in no small part on the conduct of jurors. They are given clear direction by the courts and must abide by it. If they don’t, they will be before the courts themselves.”

A spokesman at WWL said: “We can confirm this individual is no longer working at the trust and their employment with the organisation will formally cease at the end of this month.”