Maxwell Juror Admits Failing to Disclose Sexual Abuse History

A juror in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking trial admitted in federal court Tuesday that he inaccurately answered his jury questionnaire, but that his answer denying he had been a victim of sexual abuse was an honest mistake — and not an attempt to get on the jury. More than two months after Maxwell was found guilty on five counts related to the sex trafficking of minors, the verdict has come under the microscope, with the possibility that the panel’s decision could be thrown out and Maxwell could get a new trial, McClatchy Newspapers reports. Juror 50, also known as “Scotty David,” gave media interviews after the verdict, boasting that he helped jurors understand the nature of sexual assault allegations, based on his having been sexually abused as a child. He did not reveal that fact during jury selection, even thought he fillied out a questionnaire that asked him whether he or someone close to him was a victim of sexual assault. He checked “no.”

Had he been truthful, Maxwell’s lawyers would likely have excluded him from the jury pool. Now they are using it as a mechanism to get a new trial for the 60-year-old British socialite who remains in prison after being convicted for helping recruit young girls to be abused by sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. It is against the law to lie on the questionnaire, Juror 50 indicated that, if questioned under oath, he would plead his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The juror said that he did not intentionally mislead the court, calling it “one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made in my life,” and insisting that he merely “skimmed” the questions and didn’t read them carefully. He said he didn’t expect to be selected, and was distracted because he had just gone through a recent breakup. The judge gave lawyers until March 15 to submit briefs on whether the verdict should be set aside. Maxwell’s sentencing is scheduled for June. She faces the prospect of decades behind bars if her convictions, which include one charge of sex trafficking of a minor, stand.