Manhattan judge denies Ghislaine Maxwell's request to keep her motion for a new trial under seal after juror who convicted her revealed he'd been sexually abused as a child
A federal judge has denied Ghislaine Maxwell request to keep her motion for a new trial under seal after a juror said after her conviction that he'd been sexually abused as a child.
U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan denied the request from February 1 on Friday as she claimed that doing so was not in the public interest.
The judge said public access to the documents and any ensuing publicity would not violate Maxwell's right to fair proceedings.
'The Court is unpersuaded by the Defendant's concern that media interest in the motion warrants temporary sealing of the documents in their entirety,' Nathan wrote in her ruling.
Attorneys for Maxwell initially argued in a letter that the motion for the new trial should remain under seal until a judge has ruled on it or a hearing was held for the request, according to the New York Post.
Ghislaine Maxwell's request to keep her motion for a new trial sealed has been denied
Judge Alison Nathan denied the request as she claimed it was not in the public interest
Maxwell's attorneys have raised concern about the truthfulness of one of the jurors who convicted Maxwell in December of conspiring to procure and groom teenage girls to be abused by Epstein.
Juror Scotty David told DailyMail.com that he told other jurors he had been sexually abused as a child which led Maxwell's attorneys to demand a new trial.
He first told DailyMail.com that he had not revealed this history during jury selection because it had not been asked on the juror questionnaire.
When it was pointed out that question 48 of the 50 asked exactly that question, he then claimed that he did not remember it but had answered all questions 'honestly.'
He told other outlets that he, 'flew through' the questionnaire.
He also revealed that a second juror had shared their own story of sexual abuse, a claim later verified by the juror who wished to remain anonymous.
He has claimed he can't recall how he answered questions about previous sex abuse that were given to potential jurors before the trial.
He told Reuters that he 'flew through' the questionnaire but was sure that he answered the question truthfully.
Nathan also noted that public access to the documents and any ensuing publicity would not violate Maxwell's right to fair proceedings
Maxwell faces up to 65 years in jail when she is sentenced on June 28 after being found guilty in December on five charges for sex trafficking
DailyMail.com has already established that whatever David answered on the questionnaire it did not elicit any follow up questions at the interview or 'voir dire' stage of jury selection.
David told DailyMail.com, 'It was never raised. We went in front of the judge and there were all the lawyers in the room and that's where they asked me some questions. They asked me what I do, what I like to do for fun and if I can be fair and impartial. It was literally like 30 seconds long and then I was out of the room.'
Conversely when he shared his story in the jury room on day three of deliberations, he recalled 'the room went silent.'
According to David his own sharing led a second juror to share their story. His experience, he said, allowed him to better understand the victims who testified and parlay that into a better understanding in jurors who were not convinced of the victims' credibility.
Maxwell's lawyers argued that unsealing their motion for a retrial would give Scotty David an 'improper' view of information he 'should never have' including his 'exact' questionnaire responses.
Maxwell's attorneys told the Mail on Sunday that they believe they found a third juror who lied about being abused, after a second unidentified juror told The New York Times that they, too, had been abused as a child.
The demand for a retrial came after juror Scotty David revealed that he been a victim of sexual abuse as a child
The first juror to reveal their sexual abuse, David, said he couldn't remember how he answered a pre-trial question about his own sexual abuse history - casting doubt on the validity of Maxwell's conviction - and he has asked the judge to see his answers.
He has since retained lawyer Todd Spodek, who asked the court to provide the questionnaire, according to the New York Daily News. He could face perjury charges if he's found to have intentionally lied.
David, 35, has claimed that he used his experience being sexually assaulted to influence other jurors, saying: 'When I shared that, they were able to come around on the memory aspect of the sexual abuse.'
But video published by DailyMail.com revealed that David couldn't remember if the pre-trial questionnaire asked about sexual abuse history - which it did.
David told DailyMail.com that he was 'quite excited' to be selected for jury duty and that when he discovered that he had been called for selection for the Maxwell trial he was, 'shocked.'
He said, 'I thought this is incredible. If I get selected for this that would be an honor.'
He added, 'I honestly didn't know much about her or Jeffery Epstein going into it. I didn't know who Jeffery Epstein was until he died.'
Meanwhile, Maxwell's lawyers asked the court to vacate her convictions and acquit her, arguing that despite the jury's verdicts on multiple counts, prosecutors failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Maxwell had been convicted after it was revealed she had been grooming young girls for late boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein
Epstein had taken his own life in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges
Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and three counts of conspiracy. She was found not guilty of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.
Maxwell, whose friends included Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, was convicted after a month-long trial in which prosecutors maintained that she recruited and groomed teenage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse from 1994 to 2004.
Maxwell once had a romantic relationship with Epstein, but later became his employee at his five residences, including a Manhattan mansion and a large estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Epstein took his own life at a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 as he awaited a trial on sex trafficking charges.
Maxwell's lawyers argued at trial that she was made into a scapegoat by federal prosecutors after his death.
She faces up to 65 years in jail when she is sentenced on June 28 after being found guilty in December on five charges.
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