Teen’s Linn County sex assault trial ends in hung jury

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Linn County trial for a teen accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman who was intoxicated last year ended Monday in a hung jury.

Jurors sent a note to 6th Judicial District Chief Judge Patrick Grady late Monday morning, saying they couldn't reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of Jayden Goos, 17, of Cedar Rapids, who is charged with third-degree sexual abuse.

Grady told the jurors to go back in and try again, which is a typical procedure. Around 3 p.m., they again told him they couldn't reach a unanimous decision at which time Grady declared a hung jury.

The jury started deliberations after closing arguments on Friday afternoon, following a four-day trial.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Rena Schulte said Goos will be retried at a later date. She didn't know the exact split of the jury.

During the trial, the woman, who is now 19 years old, told a jury she awoke on a sofa after drinking alcohol at a party last August and was confused but realized she was in the basement at the home of Goos, then 16, and he was sexually assaulting her.

She felt panicked and told him 'no.” He stopped and she grabbed her phone and sent a group text to about 15 friends, asking for help. The woman said Goos kept telling her it 'wasn't rape. ... It's what friends do.”

The woman admitted during testimony she was intoxicated but didn't give Goos consent. She said she never had romantic or intimate feelings for him.

Goos' defense maintained throughout trial that the sex was consensual and the woman, who was older and invited him over, was leading him on.

During opening statements, Tyler Johnston, Goos' lawyer, said Goos believed the sex to be consensual based on the woman's actions.

If convicted, Goos faces 10 years in prison.

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