A JURY member has been accused of researching a case during a rape trial he was sitting on.

Alan Peck, of Green Lane, Chesterton near Bicester, appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (July 9) charged with one count of being a member of a jury carrying out research during the trial period.

The 73-year-old is accused of carrying out research while sitting on the trial of Jay Spinks in December 2022.

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Spinks was jailed for four-and-a-half years after being found guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl at a Bicester skate park in September 2020.

Peck is accused of researching the weather forecast for the day the offence was committed.

He is now due at Oxford Crown Court on August 8 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.

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