BOSTON, June 21, 2025 — The rape trial of Irish firefighter Terence Crosbie concluded in a mistrial on Friday after a Suffolk Superior Court jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict, despite extended deliberations and judicial efforts to avoid a hung jury.
The jury, which had been deliberating since Monday, informed Superior Court Judge Sarah Weyland Ellis on Friday afternoon that it remained deadlocked. In an attempt to facilitate a resolution, Judge Ellis delivered a Tuey-Rodriguez charge — a standard legal instruction in Massachusetts used when a jury is at an impasse. The charge urges jurors to reconsider their positions and work toward consensus, while acknowledging the possibility that a verdict may remain unreachable.
“This is a good time in the day to issue the instruction,” the judge remarked, encouraging the panel to reflect on the gravity of their civic responsibility. She reminded the jurors that any future jury would be drawn from the same pool as they were.
Despite these efforts, the jury was unable to reach agreement, prompting Judge Ellis to declare a mistrial later in the day.
Case Background
Terence Crosbie, a 39-year-old firefighter from Dublin, Ireland, stood trial on charges of raping a woman at Boston’s historic Omni Parker House Hotel on March 15, 2024. Crosbie had travelled to the city as part of a delegation of firefighters participating in the annual South Boston Parade.
Crosbie pleaded not guilty and testified in his own defense on June 13, telling the court he “hit the panic button” upon learning of the allegations.
According to testimony presented during the trial, the alleged victim had returned to the hotel room with one of Crosbie’s fellow firefighters — her acquaintance from The Black Rose bar. The two reportedly engaged in consensual sex before falling asleep in separate beds. Crosbie was not present at the time, but electronic room key records indicated that he returned at 1:55 a.m.
Prosecutors alleged that Crosbie assaulted the woman while she was asleep and unaware of his presence. Assistant District Attorney Erin Murphy told the court: “Because the victim was asleep when he returned, she was unaware that he was even there until she woke up to him actively raping her.”
Murphy further alleged that the accused ignored the woman’s pleas to stop. “She demanded that he stop and asked what he was doing and the defendant continued. He did not stop and made remarks to the effect that he knew she wanted this, that it was pathetic that his friend had fallen asleep and couldn’t do it, and that he was going to do it for her,” she said.
Hotel logs showed that the woman left the room at approximately 2:15 a.m. She is believed to have texted a friend stating she had been sexually assaulted before presenting herself at a hospital.
Prosecutors also revealed that Crosbie allegedly attempted to leave the United States soon after being interviewed by police. They stated that he changed his flight and attempted to board an earlier plane at Logan International Airport. He was intercepted and arrested after the aircraft was brought to a stop on the tarmac.
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