MORGAN CITY — A child sexual abuse trial that began earlier this month in St. Mary Parish is on hold until November after three jurors were removed, with two of them being arrested for contempt of court, Lafayette's KATC reported Monday.

KATC reports that court records show the two jurors who were jailed were ignoring court orders in the case of Dong Van Tang, who is accused of multiple counts of molestation of a juvenile. 

Tang's trial began on Aug. 12, but after the first day of testimony—during which a victim, now 8 years old, testified—one juror did not return to court and couldn't be located. That juror was replaced with an alternate, and the trial resumed, KATC reported.

However, after the second day of testimony, information was provided to the court that a second juror may have lied during jury selection. One of the questions asked of potential jurors is if they know any of the law enforcement officers involved in the case, or if they know the victim, the victim's family or the defendant, KATC reported.

The juror did know the victim's family, court records indicate. When questioned about this, the juror said she "knew of" the victim's family because Morgan City is a small town. KATC reported that the juror attended social events that the victim's family also attended, that she worked with a family member of the victim's and that she possibly had discussed that relationship with another juror.

After the court removed both jurors, a motion for a mistrial was granted and contempt hearings for the juror who didn't show up and for the juror who may have failed to disclose her relationship with the victim were set for Aug. 15, KATC reported.

The juror who didn't show up is sentenced to five days in jail for contempt of court, and the juror who didn't reveal her relationships faces 15 days in jail for contempt of court, KATC reported.