NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Jacop Hazlett was found guilty last month to sexually abusing children at a church in North Charleston.
Now, a juror, in that case, is speaking out about having to witness the shocking and upsetting evidence video.
Hazlett was accused of sexually abusing several 3-4-year-old boys at NewSpring Church in November of 2018. He was later found guilty and sentenced to 75-years in prison for those crimes.
“I was interested in the process,” said the juror who did not want to appear on camera. She said once she realized this was for the Jacop Hazlett molestation trial: “Part of me was hoping I wouldn’t get chosen, but I did.”
And it was not easy.
“Wednesday was probably the hardest day because we had to watch the videos. That was really rough.” Videos from security cameras showed Hazlett molesting four little boys, each just three and four-year-old’s on November 25, 2018.
“These are small children, helpless children; it’s just like… I wanted to just scream but I couldn’t.”
She held her emotions until December 12th, the day the jury convicted Hazlett for his crimes.
“Actually, I broke down when I got home. My husband met me in the hallway and I pretty much lost it. But had a lot of people praying for me afterward that knew what was going on, what I had gone through.”
She said she could not sleep well for weeks.
“I know it was a whole lot worse for the parents, for the grandparents and those precious children, I can imagine, so when I would start feeling overwhelmed, I would just start praying for them. And it helped me to get through it. And you can tell it’s still there.”
“For the families of those children, you’re being prayed for.”
Another juror we spoke with as she was leaving the courthouse on the day of the verdict said it was the worst day of her life.
