NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Defense attorneys said the juror, 31-year-old Todd Easter, intentionally withheld information that he was a rape victim during the jury selection.
Easter testified at a hearing last week that he didn't withhold information because he doesn't consider himself a victim.
A Sumner County man was convicted of raping Easter when he was 16. However, Easter testified that his relationship with the man was consensual and that his parents were the ones who pressed charges.
The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of alleged sexual crimes, but Easter, who was the jury foreman, agreed to have his name included in news stories.
Defense attorneys described Easter as "deceitful and manipulative," and that he had an agenda.
They said that during the jury selection process Easter had a chance to discuss the rape case he was involved in but when asked whether he had been sexually assaulted, defense attorneys said Easter's response was, "no one super close to me."
They also noted comments Easter made to the media after the players were convicted, that part of his motivation for wanting to be foreman was so he could look the defendants in their eyes as the verdict was read.
Easter testified that wasn't his motivation, but that he was simply trying to "give them the respect of a human being."
Easter acknowledged that he had a sometimes abusive relationship with the man who was convicted of raping him. He said the two engaged in sexual activity more than 100 times, and that the man — who was seven years older than Easter — threatened to harm him when he broke off the four-month relationship.
Authorities said Easter went to his mother out of concern and she and her husband contacted authorities.
Easter testified that he was against his parents pressing charges and that he even met with the man again after he was charged.
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