I think much of is the fault of the mother. If you listen to the jurors talk, thats all they can talk about, is their dislike of her.
There are two sides of the coin here. On one hand, a child was probably violated, but also, his mother is a money-grubber. Unfortunately, the jurors saw that and didn't want her to be rewarded. They may have been star struck as well, but I think the mother played a large part in it.