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Ghislaine Maxwell (court drawing): Found guilty of sex trafficking in December
Photo: Elizabeth Williams/AP
Ghislaine Maxwell's defense has officially requested that the trial of US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's confidant be reopened.
The background is that a jury member is said to have concealed his own experiences of abuse before the trial.
In late December, a 12-juror found Maxwell guilty of child sex trafficking.
The 60-year-old faces a life sentence.
The sentence will be announced at a later date.
Maxwell - once Epstein's lover and then his close confidante and employee for years - is said to have recruited young girls for the very wealthy and well-connected US investor for years and, in some cases, to have participated in the abuse himself.
It was already known at the beginning of January that the defense was demanding a new trial.
Prosecutors also called for an investigation after concerns were raised that a jury member might not have disclosed his abuse experiences in advance.
Documents sealed, contents unknown
In a letter to the court, Maxwell's attorneys now wrote that they had filed their "request for a new trial" and the "related documents".
The documents were submitted sealed and their contents are unknown.
The juror concerned had spoken in several interviews about the jury's deliberations since Maxwell's conviction.
In it, the 35-year-old said he helped convince jurors who questioned the testimonies of the prosecution's two key witnesses.
He told the jury that he also couldn't remember every detail of his own abuse experience.
Potential jurors were asked during the selection process if they had ever been a victim of sexual abuse.
The jury member told Reuters that he did not remember the question but answered the questionnaire honestly.
Prosecutors now have until February 2 to respond to Maxwell's defense request.
Epstein is said to have sexually abused underage girls and young women and incited them to prostitution for years.
He was found dead in his prison cell in August 2019 while on remand.
The authorities assume suicide.
bbr/Reuters
