By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers will request on Wednesday that the British socialite’s sex abuse conviction for sexual assault be overturned. This is due to a possible juror’s failure to disclose that he had been sexually abused when a child.

Maxwell, 60, was convicted https://www.reuters.com/world/us/maxwell-jury-resume-deliberations-after-judge-warns-omicron-risk-2021-12-29 on Dec. 29, 2021, on five counts of sex trafficking and other crimes for recruiting and grooming teenage girls to have sexual encounters with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell is facing up to 65 years imprisonment.

But her lawyers said earlier this month there were “incontrovertible grounds https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ghislaine-maxwells-prosecutors-seek-inquiry-into-jurors-sexual-abuse-claim-2022-01-05” for a new trial after the juror, who asked to be identified by his first and middle names, Scotty David, told Reuters and other news media outlets that he described being abused as a child during jury deliberations.

It was feared that he had not disclosed his abuse at pretrial screening. In a questionnaire, prospective jurors were asked if they’d ever been the victim of sexual abuse. Scotty David told Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/us/some-ghislaine-maxwell-jurors-initially-doubted-accusers-juror-says-2022-01-05 he did not remember the question, but that he would have answered honestly.

The U.S. District Court Alison Nathan will conduct an inquiry into juror statements. Prosecutors have until February 2 to reply to Maxwell.

Legal experts told Reuters that Maxwell would not be guaranteed https://www.reuters.com/world/us/no-guarantee-new-maxwell-trial-after-jurors-revelations-experts-say-2022-01-07 a new trial even if the juror did not disclose his abuse on the questionnaire, noting that cases of juror dishonesty that led to verdicts being overturned generally involved jurors who deliberately lied in order to be selected.

Nathan set Maxwell’s hearing date for June 28 last week.

Epstein committed suicide at the age 66 while waiting for his trial on sexual abuse charges.