Ghislaine Maxwell‘s lawyers are seeking a new trial after one of the jurors who convicted the British socialite told news outlets he was a sex abuse victim.
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The new revelations “present incontrovertible grounds for a new trial,” wrote Maxwell’s attorney Christian Everdell in a filing, half of which was redacted. “According to the juror, his disclosure influenced the deliberations and convinced other members of the jury to convict Ms. Maxwell.”
In a subsequent document, another member of Maxwell’s legal team, Jeffrey Pagliuca, wrote that “the Court can and should order a new trial” and that they were currently drafting a motion to support their position.
U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan set a schedule for both sides to file papers on the matter.
Ghislaine Maxwell attends a 2014 Gala at Three Sixty on June 11, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Jimi Celeste/Patrick McMullan via Getty Image
(Photo by Jimi Celeste/Patrick McMullan via Getty Image)
Earlier Wednesday, federal prosecutors requested a court inquiry into the statements made by the 35-year-old juror, identified by his first and middle names as Scotty David in interviews.
While jurors are free to speak to the press, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey raised concerns about his answers on the jury questionnaire, which are not public.
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“Assuming the accuracy of the reporting, the juror asserted that he ‘flew through’ the prospective juror questionnaire and does not recall being asked whether he had been a victim of sexual abuse, but stated that ‘he would have answered honestly,’ Comey wrote. “Based on the foregoing, the government believes the court should conduct an inquiry.”
Photo of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.
(SDNY)
The questionnaire specifically asked jurors whether they had been victims of sexual abuse and, if so, whether the experience would affect their ability to be impartial.
The juror has since hired attorney Todd Spodek, who represented fake heiress Anna Sorokin, according to a notice of appearance filed Wednesday.
After five full days of deliberations, Maxwell, 60, was convicted Dec. 29 of recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be abused by late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Scotty David said that some of the jurors questioned the accuracy of two of the four accusers’ memories. He decided to share his own experience with sexual abuse and not being able to recall every detail of the assault. This swayed some of the jurors, he said.
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Epstein was found hanged in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex crimes charges.
Reuters contributed to this report.
