Which is why so many jurors are low-ranking civil servants and postal workers ... they are paid during their jury duty!
BTW, we'll probably never get the full story on something like this. Being innocent of a particular charge doesn't guarantee that the accused was a splendid citizen. It's entirely possible that he was innocent of the rape, but guilty of something else that mitigated against his being successfully defended ... B&E, or assault on his record, perhaps.
Also, to give the guy a fair shake, he may well have been poorly represented ... or the cops and DA hid some exculpatory evidence. Ya just never know.