Ghislaine Maxwell's attorneys file motion for retrial in sex-trafficking case

Former UK socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorneys have filed a motion for retrial, just weeks after she was convicted of recruiting young girls to be sexually abused by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Her lawyers filed for retrial as the 60-year-old, who is an ex-girlfriend of the late billionaire paedophile Epstein, is due to be sentenced in June after New York found her guilty last month. She was convicted of recruiting and grooming teenagers for Epstein to molest at various properties between 1994 and 2004.

But in the latest development in the high-profile sex trafficking case, Maxwell’s attorney Bobbi C Sternheim wrote in a letter to Judge Alison Nathan, “For the reasons set forth in the Motion, we request that all submissions pertaining to Juror No 50 remain under seal until the Court rules on the Motion,” reported Evening Standard. Earlier, one of the jurors in the Maxwell case, shared how he shared his experience of being abused as a child after other members of the jury expressed scepticism over the accounts of two of socialite’s accusers. 

The revelations from the juror, named Scotty Davis for the media, raised concerns that he did not disclose his abuse during the pretrial screening period. In the process of selecting a jury, called voire dire, the candidates are ruled out because of possible bias and allow both sides several “pre-emptory challenges” to exclude a juror who could be prejudiced. 

Scotty claimed in interviews with several media outlets that he just “flew through” the questionnaire and said that he did not remember to recall a question about personal experiences with sexual abuse. But he would have answered the questions honestly. On the basis of the juror’s revelations following Maxwell’s conviction, her attorneys had written to the judge that it “presents incontrovertible grounds for a new trial”. Now, with the latest motion by Maxwell’s team, the prosecution gets until 2 February to respond.

On December 29, Maxwell was found guilty of five of six charges for her involvement in grooming young girls to be sexually abused by Epstein in his mansions across the United States. She now faces up to 65 years in prison.

Maxwell's prosecutors offer to drop perjury charges if retrial not granted

Meanwhile, according to The Guardian, in a letter dated January 10, the prosecutors said that they were prepared to dismiss the perjury counts in an effort to bring rapid closure for victims of Maxwell and her ex-partner Jeffrey Epstein, instead of suffering the trauma of a possible second trial.

As per the report, Maxwell’s prosecutors said in the letter, “In the event, the defendant’s post-trial motions are denied, the government is prepared to dismiss the severed perjury counts at the time of sentencing, in light of the victims’ significant interests in bringing closure to this matter and avoiding the trauma of testifying again”.

Image: AP