TROUBLE AHEAD?

Ghislaine Maxwell’s Lawyers Ask for New Trial After Juror’s Child Sex Abuse Disclosure

The juror said he revealed his own experience of child sex abuse during deliberations, which helped convince some of the panel to more readily believe victims’ testimony.

Lawyers for the recently convicted child sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell have asked the court for a new trial after it was revealed that a juror helped sway the panel towards believing Maxwell’s accusers by sharing his own experience of child sex abuse. They argued in a motion filed Wednesday that the disclosure “presents incontrovertible grounds for a new trial.” Prosecutors involved in the case have requested the court conduct an inquiry into the juror’s conduct. The juror has been identified only as 35-year-old Scotty David, his first and middle names. He “asserted that he ‘flew through’ the prospective juror questionnaire and does not recall being asked whether he had been a victim of sexual abuse,” a document filed Wednesday by the prosecution read. David had told Reuters earlier on Wednesday that some jurors were struggling to believe victims due to the gaps in their memories, so he decided to explain that he couldn’t remember every detail of his own abuse. Former New York federal prosecutor Moira Penza commented to The Telegraph that it was “a little strange the defense didn’t strike him” and the revelation “would likely form the basis for a motion to Judge [Alison] Nathan for a new trial.” In its new filing, the prosecution said that it had reached out to Maxwell’s defense team, but had not yet heard a response.