Ghislaine Maxwell family ‘shocked’ by denial of new trial
The siblings of Ghislaine Maxwell said Tuesday they are “profoundly shocked and troubled” that a judge rejected a new trial for the British socialite on sex trafficking charges despite revelations that a juror who helped to convict her failed to disclose he was sexually abused as a child.
In a statement, the “Maxwell Family” said it was focused on an appeal of U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan’s ruling last Friday that left intact Maxwell’s conviction on charges that she served as the key recruiter of teenage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse from 1994 to 2004.
The judge said she concluded that a December verdict convicting Maxwell, 60, of sex trafficking and other charges was still valid because the juror did not deliberately give wrong answers on a juror questionnaire and because he “harbored no bias toward the defendant and could serve as a fair and impartial juror.”