Maxwell’s, 60, legal team have requested the retrial after one of the jurors allegedly admitted to telling other jurors he was sexually abused as a child. In a letter to the court, the former British socialite’s lawyers said they had filed Maxwell’s “motion for a new trial”. Bobbi C. Sternheim, Maxwell’s defence lawyer, also requested that “all submissions pertaining to Juror No. 50 remain under seal until the Court rules on the Motion.”
Juror No. 50 made the admission in a media interview after the verdict in Maxwell’s trial was delivered.
He told Reuters and other news outlets that he was a victim of childhood sexual abuse, which he disclosed during jury deliberations.
In the leadup to the trial, potential jurors were asked questions about experiences of child sexual abuse, such as: “Have you or a friend or family member ever been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault?”, the Guardian reported.
They were also reportedly asked: “Witnesses in this case may testify claiming sexual abuse or sexual assault. Would you have any difficulty assessing the credibility of a witness claiming sexual assault or abuse just like you would any other witness?”
The juror told Reuters that he did not recall the question about abuse but would have answered honestly.
Earlier in January, layers for the 60-year-old socialite wrote to Judge Alison Nathan saying the issue “presents incontrovertible grounds for a new trial”.
Prosecutors in the case also wrote to Judge Nathan in early January asking for an inquiry into the juror’s comments, saying they “merit attention”.
They wrote: “While the court instructed jurors that they were free to discuss their jury service with anyone of their choosing, some of the statements, as related in the media, merit attention by the court.
“In particular, the juror has described being a victim of sexual abuse.
READ MORE: Maxwell no longer fighting to keep names sealed from Giuffre’s lawsuit
Maxwell is due to be sentenced in June after she was found guilty of recruiting underage girls, some as young as 14, to be sexually abused by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
She faces up to 65 years in prison.
The court heard Maxwell described as “dangerous” and Epstein’s “partner in crime”.
She was found guilty of five out of six charges.
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