Juror fined for googling floorplan during rape trial

Caroline Spratt was found to be in contempt of court

A juror who searched for the floorplan of a home similar to the location of a rape in the trial she was sitting on has been fined for contempt of court.

Academic Caroline Spratt used the RightMove app on her phone to research the layout of a house and googled the definition of the not proven verdict, in breach of rules governing jurors.

Spratt, 47, was on the jury panel for the trial of Nicholas Tonder, who was convicted on Friday of raping a woman at a house in Edinburgh.

Lord Lake fined Spratt, a lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Edinburgh, £400.

Tonder, 25, seized his victim by the neck and restricted her breathing before having sex with her without consent during the incident in July 2022.

He was found guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh, but sentencing was deferred by Lord Lake until October so reports could be obtained.

Spratt was among the 14-person jury for the trial.

Members were told at the start of proceedings that they were only to consider evidence heard in court in their deliberations.

Jurors are also warned against conducting their own investigations or relying on material not presented in court.

Those directions are given in order to ensure unbiased trials and prevent miscarriages of justice.

'Failure to follow directions'

Hours before Tonder was convicted, the court was told about Spratt’s behaviour in end-of-trial discussions involving fellow members of the jury.

Court officials found that she had used the property website to look up the floorplan of a house closely resembling that of the one where the victim in Tonder’s case was attacked.

They also found she had used the search engine to find the definition of the controversial not proven verdict.

It is one of three verdicts that can be returned in a criminal case in Scotland.

In legal terms it is an acquittal but critics claims it is confusing and can stigmatise the accused person as well as failing to provide closure for victims.

A bill to abolish the verdict passed its first stage at Holyrood in April.

Spratt’s defence lawyer, Brian Gilfedder said she accepted her actions were a "failure" on her part to follow "directions given to her at the start of the trial" .

Lord Lake said he did not think a jail sentence was appropriate as her actions did not result in the trial collapsing.

He said: “I do find you to be in contempt of court. You will be fined a sum of £400.”