By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Juror misconduct put a halt to the sex assault trial of a former Grafton County House of Corrections officer accused of assaulting two inmates.
Max Fournier has maintained his innocence for years, since he was first investigated for the alleged assaults in 2019.
“This is very, very frustrating for Max, he’s been waiting years for this,” said his attorney Mark Sisti. “It’s disappointing, we were looking forward to getting this out of the way.”
The sister of the alleged victim in the trial told InDepthNH.org the trial this week was traumatic for the woman.
“[She] has worked so hard to turn her life around and this has absolutely not been a positive thing for her to have to add to her plate. She has done every program available to better herself and achieve being clean from drugs,” the sister said.
The trial began this week in Grafton Superior Court, and the first witness was still giving testimony when the mistrial was declared. Sisti said a juror had been discussing facts of the case with another juror, a violation of the rules for jury conduct.
The jury had been instructed not to discuss any aspect of the case during their breaks from the trial, as it is considered deliberations. Jurors are not supposed to deliberate the cases until the trial is complete and all of the facts have been presented, Sisti said.
“The integrity of the criminal justice system depends on the jury listening to, and obeying the court’s orders,” Sisti said.
A new trial on the charges likely won’t get underway for months given the heavy caseloads New Hampshire courts have, Sisti said. It’s another painful delay for Fournier, and the alleged victim.
“I want him to face consequences and to have the injustices of the department on display,” the sister said.
Fournier is facing two separate trials after he was indicted in 2022 for the alleged assaults of two different female prisoners, called Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 in the court files. He’s charged with one class B felony for felonious sexual assault, and three special enhanced felonies for aggravated felonious sexual assault. The three aggravated felonious sexual assault charges are enhanced due to Fournier’s position of authority over the woman.
The first trial was scheduled to start in July before prosecutors called it off days before opening arguments. The last-minute cancellation was allowed when Assistant Belknap County Attorney Sheldon Nason told Grafton Superior Court Judge Lawrence MacLeod that the victim was having a memory issue.
The Belknap County Attorney’s Office was brought in to prosecute Fournier in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
During trial preparation days before the July trial, the woman’s memory of the alleged assault no longer lined up with the facts stated in the indictments. Prosecutors eventually dropped the problematic indictments and brought new charges against Fournier based on the clarified memories of the alleged victim.
Fournier was a corporal in the jail when he was placed on leave in 2020 over the allegations. Part of his duties included training other officers in how to handle inmates.