Man who broke jury rules gets suspended sentence

A juror who broke court rules by researching information that wasn't revealed in court and sharing it with other members of his jury has been sentenced.

Peter Taylor, from Eastcott Hill in Swindon, received a 12‑month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, at Gloucester Crown Court on Thursday.

The judge, Recorder Richard Mawhinney said he believed Taylor, 34, acted "out of stupidity, not out of mischief or calculation".

Taylor pleaded guilty to two charges after admitting he had researched the partner of one of the victims mentioned during the trial.

In November 2024, Taylor served as a juror in a trial relating to sexual offences.

During the trial, Taylor researched the partner of one of the victims, who had been mentioned in court.

Taylor then asked the other jurors whether they had also researched the partner and told them that he was "really not a nice guy at all".

After the court was made aware of this, Taylor was dismissed from the jury and the incident was referred to Wiltshire Police for investigation.

The trial continued with 11 jurors, resulting in a hung jury and a retrial.

Taylor pleaded guilty to carrying out research during the trial period and to sharing that research with other jurors - both offences under the Juries Act.

Det Con Ashleigh Moran said Taylor's actions "could easily have led to the entire case collapsing and stopping victims from getting justice".

The judge said that if the trial had been brought to a halt, Taylor would have faced facing an immediate custodial sentence.

Taylor, who was also ordered to pay £1,000 to the court, has no previous convictions and was described by the judge as having a "good character".

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