Juror facing jail over online chats.(News)

Byline: Chris Greenwood Crime Reporter

A WOMAN juror sobbed yesterday as she was told she will be jailed for using Facebook to contact a defendant in a mul t i -million pound drugs trial.

Joanne Fraill, 40, revealed sensitive details about jury discussions when she swapped messages with Jamie Sewart, 34, who had been acquitted.

The jury was still considering charges against other defendants and her actions led the case - a second retrial - to collapse, contributing to a [pounds sterling]6million legal bill. The High Court in London heard the two women were the first people to be prosecuted for contempt of court involving the internet.

Three senior judges, led by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, warned Fraill she could be jailed for up to two years. They found Sewart also in contempt of court but said she would not be jailed as she has a child aged three. The case came just months after Lord Judge warned that misuse of the internet was a major threat to the future of the jury system.

The case was brought by Attorney General Dominic Grieve, QC, after the collapse of the tenweek trial at Manchester Crown Court last August.

The court heard Fraill, of Blackley, Manchester, tracked Sewart down on Facebook the day after she had been cleared of conspiracy to supply heroin and amphetamines. She sent her a message under the pseudonym 'Jo Smilie' saying: 'You should know me - I've cried with you enough.' The pair exchanged 50 messages in a 36-minute chat peppered with internet slang about the trial, co-defendants and the latest position of the jury.

At one point Sewart said: 'Whats happenin with the other charge?' She then refers to 'class B', which is believed to relate to charges faced by other defendants.

Fraill replied that the jury were at loggerheads, but that the remaining defendants were likely to be acquitted as there is 'no way it can stay hung'. Asked to keep quiet about their chat, Sewart said: 'I know. I have deleted all the messages. Don't worry.' Later, Fraill was told she could receive a 'nice pressie' if Sewart won compensation after being held on remand for 14 months and they agreed to become Facebook friends. The next morning, Sewart, of Bolton, confessed to her solicitor that she had been contacted by Fraill and the judge stopped the case.

Fraill, a mother of three who also has three stepchildren, later confessed to conducting internet research about a shooting involving Sewart's boyfriend and co-accused Gary Knox, who was cleared of the 'conspiracy to supply' charges.

The women will be sentenced tomorrow.

CAPTION(S):

Joanne Fraill: Revealed details

Jamie Sewart: Promised 'nice pressie'