By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday will question a juror in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking case who failed to disclose having been sexually abused as a child.
U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan also denied Maxwell’s bid for a new trial, at least until after a March 8 hearing when the Manhattan man known as Juror 50 will testify under oath in open court.
Nathan said Maxwell had met the “high” legal standard to obtain a post-verdict hearing.
Maxwell, 60, was convicted on Dec. 29 of five of the six counts she faced for aiding the late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls.
The British socialite faces up to 65 years in prison.
The verdict became clouded when Juror 50, who identified himself by his first and middle names Scotty David, told media including Reuters that he shared with other jurors his history of sexual abuse during the five days of jury deliberations.
He said he had not disclosed this abuse before trial when filling out his juror questionnaire, which asked if he had been a sexual abuse victim and whether he could judge Maxwell fairly.
Juror 50, who is in his mid-30s, also told Reuters he did not remember the question and would have answered honestly, but that he “flew through” the questionnaire.
Nathan called Juror 50’s statements “clear, strong, substantial and incontrovertible evidence” that he responded falsely on his questionnaire, depriving Maxwell’s lawyers of a chance to question him for bias.
But in denying a new trial, Nathan said she could not accept Juror 50’s statements at face value because they were either unsworn, or inadmissible under federal evidentiary rules.
The judge also ordered that Juror 50’s questionnaire be made public.
Maxwell’s lawyers had also sought to question a second juror who reportedly claimed to discuss with fellow jurors having also experienced sexual abuse as a child. Nathan denied that request on Thursday.
Lawyers for Maxwell did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Todd Spodek, a lawyer for Juror 50, declined to comment.
Legal experts have said overturning verdicts because of juror dishonesty generally occurs when jurors lie in order to be seated, not when they mistakenly conceal important information.
Maxwell’s sentencing is scheduled for June 28.
Epstein killed himself on Aug. 10, 2019 at age 66 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting his own sex-trafficking trial.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
