Sheffield juror wrote letters to men who abused city girl

Deborah Dean, aged 47, from Sheffield, who disclosed the contents of jury deliberations in the letters, received a three month prison sentence suspended for a year for contempt of court.

London's High Court heard Dean's letters contained her derogatory views about her fellow jurors.

She wrote to Shakeal Rehman, who was sentenced to 12 years for trafficking and rape and Usman Ali, who was jailed for three years for sexual activity with a child.

In her letters she said she was sorry for the outcome of their trial and had tried to fight their corner in the jury room.

She told the men if they needed money, a letter or a visit, she would be there for them.

Dean was a juror in the trial of Rehman, Ali and three others who were jailed for a total of 28-and-a-half years for sexually exploiting a ‘very vulnerable’ 13-year-old Sheffield runaway girl.

The youngster ran away from home to Bradford in the summer of 2013 and was picked up in a car by Rehman, taken to a hotel and raped.

She was raped and abused by others during the week she was missing.

It was as the men prepared an appeal against their convictions that the letters which Dean sent came to light.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland said: "Contempt of court of this nature involves serious wrongdoing and I instigated these proceedings as it was clearly in the wider public interest to do so.

"Any action which interferes with the administration of justice is a serious breach and I hope today's judgment sends a lesson to other jurors about their responsibilities."

Dean apologised and said she was distressed and sent the letters out of misguided sympathy.