Judge upholds Maxwell sex trafficking conviction
April 2, 2022
A US judge decided not to grant a retrial for Ghislaine Maxwell on Friday after the British socialite sought to get her sex trafficking conviction overturned.
Maxwell's legal team had been looking to secure a new trial after it was revealed that one of the jurors failed to disclose that he'd been sexually abused as a child.
The 60-year-old was convicted in December last year of helping the now-deceased millionaire Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse numerous girls over several years.
What's the latest?
US Judge Alison J. Nathan upheld Maxwell's conviction after assessing the juror's testimony at a hearing last month.
The man, referred to as Juror 50 in court documents, failed to disclose his history as a survivor of child sexual abuse during the jury selection process. Following the conviction, the juror told several news outlets that he'd revealed his past abuse during jury deliberations.
"His failure to disclose his prior sexual abuse during the jury selection process was highly unfortunate, but not deliberate," Nathan wrote. "The Court further concludes that Juror 50 harbored no bias toward the Defendant and could serve as a fair and impartial juror."
In his testimony to the court, Juror 50 told the judge that he "skimmed way too fast" through the jury selection questionnaire and didn't intentionally provide a wrong answer.
What happens next?
With the conviction upheld, Maxwell is now set to be sentenced in June.
She potentially faces up to 65 years in prison after she was found guilty on five out of the six counts brought against her.
However, the judge's decision could potentially be appealed to a higher court, which could delay Maxwell's sentencing.
How was Maxwell connected to Epstein?
Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 at her home in the US state of New Hampshire. She holds British, 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 ruling the death as a suicide.
Epstein was connected to numerous famous people, most notably former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, as well as the UK's Prince Andrew.
Maxwell is accused of playing a key role in setting up young girls to be abused by Epstein.
rs/sms (AP, Reuters)