Judge denies Ghislaine Maxwell bid for mistrial over juror failure to disclose he is a victim of sexual assault



A federal judge on Friday rejected a bid by Ghislaine Maxwell to toss out her conviction on sex trafficking charges over the failure of a juror to disclose that he was a victim of sexual assault.

The juror admitted that he had failed to disclose the information on a jury questionnaire form, but he said that it was accidental and that he had been distracted when he filled it out.

Maxwell, a British socialite, was convicted in December for sex trafficking a 14-year-old girl during her time as a close confidante to disgraced billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein. He was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell in Aug. 2019 while awaiting trial for the same crimes.

The judge interviewed the juror last month and said that he found him to be responsive and forthright and believed that his experience with being a victim of sexual abuse did not interfere with his duty to be a fair and impartial juror.

The jury deliberated for about 40 hours before handing down a guilty verdict for Maxwell on one count of sex trafficking a minor, three counts of conspiracy, and one count of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

Prosecutors alleged that Maxwell had helped Epstein to lure young girls into sexual relationships with him. Four women testified that they had been sexually assaulted by Epstein through the facilitation of Maxwell.

Prior to Epstein's suicide, prosecutors were getting closer to publicly releasing a trove of documents that would reveal many of the wealthy and famous celebrities who were involved in child trafficking.

Maxwell could face up to 65 years in prison when she is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

Here's more about the conviction of Maxwell:

Ghislaine Maxwell prepares for life behind barswww.youtube.com

Breaking: Jury finds Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of sex trafficking a minor



A Manhattan federal court jury found 60-year-old Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of several charges relating to sex trafficking of a minor on Wednesday after five full days of deliberation.

Maxwell was the girlfriend of convicted pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, and prosecutors were able to convince a jury that she aided the billionaire in locating his teenage victims from 1994 to about 2004. She was accused of recruiting and grooming the girls for Epstein, with most of the evidence consisting of testimony from four victims.

She was convicted of 5 out of 6 charges of luring teenage girls for sexual abuse, some as young as 14 years old. Maxwell was not convicted of one charge of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.

Attorneys for Maxwell tried to argue that she was also a victim of Epstein's rather than an accomplice to his crimes.

Epstein died under mysterious circumstances in 2019 when he was found in his cell in Manhattan after apparently committing suicide. He was awaiting trial for sex trafficking when he died. Guards were supposed to have checked in on him every 30 minutes, but they neglected to do so due to insufficient staffing at the prison.

"The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a statement about the verdict.

"I want to commend the bravery of the girls — now grown women — who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom," he added. "Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today's result, possible."

Maxwell faces as many as 65 years in prison upon her sentencingnext year.

Here's more about the guilty verdict against Maxwell:

Ghislaine Maxwell convicted in Epstein sex abuse casewww.youtube.com