NEW YORK, NY – Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, the British socialite who was convicted December 29 on 5 of 6 counts of grooming underage girls to be molested by the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, could potentially receive a new trial after one of the jurors that voted to convict her admitted in a recent interview that he himself was the victim of sexual abuse.
Christian Everdell, Maxwell’s attorney, stated in a court filing that the admission by the juror – who apparently failed to disclose the prior abuse on his jury questionnaire – presents “incontrovertible grounds for a new trial.”
“According to the juror, his disclosure influenced the deliberations and convinced other members of the jury to convict Ms. Maxwell,” Everdell’s filing said.
A second member of Maxwell’s legal team, Jeffrey Pagliuca, also submitted a filing to the court, concurring with his colleague that the juror may have unfairly tainted the proceedings, saying that “the Court can and should order a new trial.”
The juror in question, a 35 year-old male identified only by his first and middle names – “Scotty David” – in media interviews, has stated that he does not recall being asked during the jury selection process if they had been a victim of sexual abuse in the past, but said that he “would have answered honestly.”
However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey – a prosecutor in Maxwell’s case – said that the questionnaire that “Scotty David” was required to fill out specifically asked if they had been the victim of sexual abuse and, if so, if the experience would affect their ability to be impartial during the trial.
Comey noted that prosecutors were concerned by the juror’s admission of sexual abuse and his answers on the questionnaire, saying that an inquiry into the matter was warranted.
“Based on the foregoing, the government believes the court should conduct an inquiry,” she said.
“Scotty David” had said in interviews that he had conveyed his own experience with sexual abuse during deliberations when other jurors were skeptical of how accurate the memories of some of Maxwell’s accusers could be; his story influenced the decision of some of the jurors, he said.
“Scotty David” has since hired an attorney, and U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan has established a timetable for both prosecution and defense to file their respective documents on the issue.
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