A request for a new trial by Ghislaine Maxwell, the former Jeffrey Epstein associate who was convicted of child s..ex trafficking late last year, was denied Friday by a federal judge in New York.
Maxwell’s lawyers filed for a retrial in January after juror Scotty David identified by his first and middle names told media outlets he had persuaded fellow panelists to convict the 60-year-old by recalling his own experiences as a sex abuse victim, a fact he did not reveal during jury selection. Maxwell, a disgraced British socialite, was convicted of recruiting and grooming young girls to be sexually abused by the late US financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Her sentence, which will be decided on June 28, could see her spend the rest of her life in prison.
Two of Epstein’s victims, identified as “Jane” and “Carolyn,” testified in Maxwell’s trial that they were as young as 14 when she began grooming them and arranging for them to give massages to Epstein that ended in sexual activity.
Scotty David, referred to as Juror 50 in court filings, said in interviews that he had helped convince jurors who were doubting the accounts of “Jane” and “Carolyn” by telling them that he did not remember every single detail of the abuse he had received.
Maxwell’s lawyers had argued that Juror 50’s omission of his prior sexual assault could have biased the jury. He had said the omission occurred because he “flew through” the questionnaire. Maxwell’s conviction capped a remarkable fall from grace.
The Oxford-educated daughter of the late British press baron Robert Maxwell, she grew up in wealth and privilege as a friend to royalty.
Her circle included Britain’s Prince Andrew, former US president and real estate baron Donald Trump and the Clinton family. Prosecutors in her trial said Maxwell was “the key” to Epstein’s scheme of enticing young girls to give him massages, during which he would s.e.xually abuse them.
Epstein killed himself in 2019 while awaiting his own s.e.x crimes trial in New York. In February, Prince Andrew settled a s.e.xual abuse lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre.
Source: IOL
In other news – ProVerb, Lerato Kganyago and Melanie Bala to host a show on Metro FM
ProVerb, Lerato Kganyago and Melanie Bala will be hosting a show on Metro FM. A few days ago, Pro hinted at his return to radio after he thought he’s ended his radio career.
However, he’s back and will be co-hosting The Midday Link Up with the two other women, Monday to Friday from 12 pm – 3 pm on the aforementioned radio station. Learn more
