Ghislaine Maxwell Lawyers To Seek Mistrial After Jurors Describe Their Own Childhood Abuse

Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell on Wednesday said they will ask for her sex-trafficking conviction to be thrown out and a new trial scheduled after revelations that two jurors may themselves have been victims of sexual abuse and that they discussed their experiences during jury deliberations.

Maxwell was convicted on Dec. 29 of five of six counts, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking of an individual under 18, after five days of jury deliberations. She faces up to 65 years in prison for her role in the recruitment of young girls and women to give sexualized massages to Jeffrey Epstein, her longtime lover and employer.

Epstein died by suicide while awaiting his own sex-trafficking trial in 2019.

Reuters, The Independent and other outlets reported this week that one juror, who was not identified by his full name, said he told other jurors he had talked about being a victim of sexual abuse while trying to convince other jurors to believe a women who testified against Maxwell. The New York Times quoted another juror, who was not named, saying they were sexually assaulted as a child and talked about it during deliberations.

The defense team said they will seek a new trial because the “interest of justice so requires.” The judge set a schedule for both sides to make their arguments about the issue, adding that other post-trial briefings will not be postponed.

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