By Tom Hays and Larry Neumeister
Associated Press
A US judge refused to throw out Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking conviction on Friday, despite a juror's failure to reveal before the trial began that she had been a victim of child sexual abuse.
Maxwell, a British socialite, was convicted in December of helping millionaire Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse several teenage girls.
Federal Judge Alison J. Nathan refused to allow a new trial weeks after questioning the juror under oath in a New York court about why he did not disclose his personal history as an abuse survivor in a questionnaire during the selection process. of the jury.
The juror said he “went through the questionnaire too quickly”
and did not intentionally give an incorrect answer to a sexual assault question.
"I did not lie to be on this jury," he said.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell during a concert in New York in 2005. Patrick McMullan / Getty Images
Judge Nathan said the failure of the jury to reveal her past as a sexual assault victim during the jury selection process was highly unfortunate, but not deliberate.
The judge also concluded that the juror "had no prejudice against the defendant and could serve as a fair and impartial jury."
If the jury had answered the questions correctly, Maxwell's attorneys had said they potentially could have objected to the man's presence on the jury on the grounds that it might not be fair to someone accused of a similar crime.
An alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein makes strong revelations in the trial against Ghislaine Maxwell
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The US attorney's office declined to comment Friday.
Neither do Maxwell's lawyers.
Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of sex trafficking and other charges after a month-long trial that featured testimony from four women who said she played a role in helping Epstein abuse them.
Epstein committed suicide in August 2019 while awaiting trial in a New York federal prison on charges related to sex trafficking.
Maxwell maintains that he is innocent.
