SALEM — A former Salem High School classmate of four men charged in and later convicted of taking part in a 2008 gang rape in Lynn pleaded guilty this morning to charges of perjury and misleading a judge.
Jonathan Ngarambe, 23, of 10 First St., Salem, was sentenced to two years in jail, followed by two years of probation, during a hearing before Salem Superior Court Judge David Lowy.
Prosecutors alleged, and Ngarambe admitted this morning, that while serving jury duty last March, he ended up in the jury pool for the gang rape trial, but repeatedly failed to disclose that he knew at least two of the defendants but had also had contact with the victim, also a classmate.
The trial judge went on to ask Ngarambe again whether he knew any of the parties in the case and he continued to maintain that he did not.
Lowy, who presided over the sentencing, called Ngarambe's actions an "attempt to destroy what it means to be a free American," but took into account Ngarambe's relative youth and lack of a prior record.
For more on this story, see tomorrow's Salem News.
Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, via email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter @SNJulieManganis.
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