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No new trial for Ghislaine Maxwell despite juror’s false statement -Breaking

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© Reuters. FILEPHOTO: Jeffrey Epstein partner Ghislaine Maxiwell listens to the guilty verdict during her sex-abuse trial in New York City. This sketch was taken in New York City Courtroom, U.S.A, on December 29, 2021. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, (Reuters) –Ghislaine Maxwell lost Friday’s bid to reverse her U.S. sex traficking conviction. This was despite a juror admitting that he falsely claimed before trial that he hadn’t been sexually abused.

U.S. U.S. Circuit Judge Alison Nathan stated that the juror, also known as Juror 50 in court documents, gave truthful testimony at an hearing last month after Maxwell’s attorneys claimed his falsified answers to a pretrial questionnaire justifies granting a fresh trial.

Nathan said that Nathan was not aware of Nathan’s prior sexual abuse. However, Nathan acknowledged it as a regrettable oversight. The court concluded that Juror 50 had no bias against the defendant and could be impartial and fair juror.

Maxwell lawyers didn’t immediately reply to our requests for comment.

Maxwell (60) was found guilty of sexually abusing teenage girls by Jeffrey Epstein, a financier.

Epstein had died in 1995. She had plead not guilty to her crimes. She will be sentenced on June 28.

Epstein, 66 years old and awaiting his trial for sex trafficking allegations in Manhattan in 2019, committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell.

Maxwell’s trial represented an acknowledgment that Epstein, the globetrotting financier who included elite business leaders and politicians among his social partners, had never experienced.

This case was also one the most prominent in #MeToo’s wake, which encouraged women worldwide to voice their concerns about the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of powerful and famous people.

Maxwell is facing up to 65-years imprisonment after five of six charges were found against her. Maxwell has vowed that her lawyers will appeal the verdict.

NO DELIBERATE LIE

Juror 50 answered “no” to a pre-trial screening question asking if he was a victim or perpetrator of sexual abuse.

After the trial concluded, he claimed that he and the jury had discussed his childhood sexual abuse. However, he told Reuters that he doesn’t remember being asked about this on the questionnaire.

Juror 50, who identified his self by his first name and middle name Scotty, stated that he did so to demonstrate how Maxwell’s accusers’ memories could not have been perfect.

He claimed that he was rushed to complete the questionnaire and made mistakes in claiming he wasn’t a victim of sexual abuse.

Maxwell’s attorneys claimed that they would have removed the juror from their panel if Maxwell had replied honestly. They also contended that Maxwell was denied her right to fair trials because of his falsified statement.

Nathan stated that Nathan had previously overseen a murder case in which a jury member had to be present for a relative who was killed.

Although the Federal Appeals Court in Manhattan elevated Maxwell to this position, it retained its jurisdiction.

Four women gave evidence at Maxwell’s November-December trial that Robert Maxwell, a British media baron, recruited them and trained them as teenagers so they could be abuse by Epstein in 1994 to 2004.

Maxwell’s lawyers tried to subvert her accusations by saying Maxwell was motivated by money.

Todd Spodek was a Juror-50 lawyer and did not immediately reply to my request for comment regarding Nathan’s final decision.

Maxwell’s lawyers had requested that the judge delay her decision in their request for a fresh trial. However, she refused. The Paramount+ streaming platform aired Maxwell’s documentary and Juror 50 was interviewed.

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