The Ghislaine Maxwell circle included Britain's Prince Andrew, former US President and real estate baron Donald Trump, and the Clinton family.
A federal judge in New York on Friday denied a request for a new trial by Ghislaine Maxwell, a former aide to Jeffrey Epstein convicted of child trafficking late last year.
Maxwell's lawyers sued again in January after juror Scotty David - after being identified by his first and middle names - told media outlets that he accused fellow panelists of being sexually abused by recounting their own experiences. The 60-year-old was persuaded to plead guilty. victim, a fact he did not disclose during jury selection.
Maxwell, a disgraced British socialite, was convicted by the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein of recruiting young girls and preparing them to sexually assault.
His sentence, which will be decided on June 28, could see him spend the rest of his life in prison.
Two of Epstein's victims, identified as "Jane" and "Caroline", testified at Maxwell's trial that they were at the age of 14 when he began grooming them and arranged for Epstein to be given a massage. ended in sexual activity.
Scotty David, referred to as juror 50 in court filings, said in interviews that he helped convince jurors who had doubted the accounts of "Jane" and "Carolyn" that they had to understand every single detail of the abuse they had experienced. do not remember. get.
Maxwell's lawyers argued that the omission of a prior assault by 50 of the jurors could have biased the jury.
He had said that the omission was because he had "taken off" the questionnaire.
- Bombshell Revelation´ -
Judge Alison Nathan questioned juror 50 under oath on March 8 about the error.
In her decision Friday, she said Jury 50's "failure to disclose her prior sexual abuse during the jury selection process was extremely unfortunate, but not intentional."
"The court further concluded that juror 50 held no prejudice to the defendant and could act as an impartial and impartial juror," Nathan said.
"The defendant's offer for a new trial ... is therefore rejected," he concluded.
Earlier on Friday, Maxwell's lawyers flagged off a new interview with juror 50 for the judge that will premiere as part of a TV special on the "Paramount Plus" streaming platform.
A trailer for the four-part series titled "Ghislaine - Partner in Crime", promises "bombing revelations" from Juror 50, in "their only in-depth interview".
Maxwell's attorneys said in their letter that they did not yet have access to the footage, and had "learned that Paramount was ceasing airing the series pending a court decision concerning Juror 50."
- 'Key' to Epstein -
Maxwell's sentence entailed a notable fall from grace.
The Oxford-educated daughter of the late British press baron Robert Maxwell, she grew up in wealth and privilege as a friend of royalty.
His circle included Britain's Prince Andrew, former US President and real estate baron Donald Trump, and the Clinton family.
Prosecutors said in her trial that Maxwell was the "key" to Epstein's plan to entice young girls into masseuses, during which he would abuse them.
Epstein killed himself in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial for his own crimes.
In February, Prince Andrew settled a sexual abuse lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre, who said he was trafficked for the royal by Epstein and Maxwell.