Ghislaine Maxwell requests for retrial after juror reveals his abuse history

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell‘s legal team has filed for a retrial following concerns that a juror who convicted her hadn’t disclosed his history of being sexually abused as a child. 

Maxwell was convicted of five of six charges related to sex trafficking on December 29 last year after she was found guilty of recruiting and grooming young girls for abuse at the hands of financier Jeffrey Epstein. She faces up to 65 years in jail. 

Epstein had killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Also Read | Ghislaine Maxwell a ‘scapegoat’ in a ‘flawed’ trial, claims her brother

Bobbi Sternheim, one of Maxwell’s lawyers, asked for the retrial filing to not be released publicly until the court rules on the request, reported Bloomberg Quint.

“We request that all submissions pertaining to Juror No. 50 remain under seal until the court rules on the motion,” Sternheim wrote in a letter to US District Judge Alison Nathan.

The request was filed after juror no. 50, Scotty David, said during post-verdict deliberations that he had brought up his past sexual abuse history to influence other jurors to convict Maxwell.

Also Read | Federal prosecutors move to dismiss charges against Jeffery Epstein jail guards

A pretrial questionnaire had specifically asked jurors if they had been sexually abused in the past, but David had told news outlets Reuters and Daily Mail that he didn’t recall being asked this question. 

Judge Nathan has asked both sides to present their arguments for and against another trial. The court will be required to issue a response to Maxwell’s request by February 2. 

Nathan has, for now, set Maxwell’s sentencing for June 28, reported Bloomberg Quint. 

Also Read | What next for Prince Andrew after Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction?

After the December 29 conviction, her brother Ian Maxwell had said that his sister faced a “flawed” trial and that she will not “flip” to help prosecutors, unlike the speculation.  

Speaking to Sky News, he expressed his anger and called her guilty verdict a ‘tremendous blow and disappointment’.

He said that he was not blaming the victims or gaslighting them, “I accept that these accusers were victims of Jeffrey Epstein. What I do not accept is that they were victims of Ghislaine Maxwell.”