Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell requests retrial

Lawyers for disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell formally asked for a repeat trial late Wednesday.

"Today, counsel for Ghislaine Maxwell filed her motion for a new trial," her defense attorney Bobbi C. Sternheim wrote to US District Judge Alison J. Nathan.

Maxwell, a 60-year-old associate of New York financier Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted on five counts of sex trafficking by a New York court in December. She is expected to be sentenced for her crimes in June.

Maxwell could be sentenced to as many as 65 years in prison — the rest of her life.

Defense team concerned about juror

Maxwell's lawyers have expressed concerns over one of the jurors in the trial. This juror previously told the Reuters news agency and other outlets that he had described his experience of being sexually abused as a child during jury deliberations.

Prosecutors have called on Judge Nathan to investigate the juror's statements. The judge will have until February 2 to answer the retrial request from Maxwell.

US prosecutors have offered to drop two perjury charges against Maxwell for lying in a 2016 disposition in response to the defendant's demand for a retrial.

Epstein's connections with presidents, royals

Maxwell was arrested by in July 2020 at her home in the US state of New Hampshire. She holds UK, French and US citizenship.

Epstein, who was Maxwell's one-time boyfriend, was arrested in New Jersey on sex trafficking charges in July 2019. The 66-year-old was found dead in his jail cell two weeks later, with medical examiners claiming the death was a suicide.

Epstein was connected to numerous famous people, most notably former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump and the UK's Prince Andrew.

wd/dj (Reuters, AFP)