The defense of the British worldly, convicted for sexual traffic, considers that one of the jurors has influenced the rest of the jury by revealing, during the deliberations, having been himself a victim of sexual abuse.
Le Monde with AFP
Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers, found guilty of sexual trafficking at the end of December 2021, evoke “irrefutable patterns for a new trial”. In a judicial document dated Wednesday, January 5, that the France-Presse Agency (AFP) could consult, the Defense relies in particular on an article of the Daily Mail, in which one of the jurors entrusts having recalled, during the deliberations, his victim memories of sexual abuse to enlighten the rest of the jury.
After 40 hours of discreakements spread over five days, the jury had declared, on 29 December 2021, Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, guilty of five of the six charges who weighed on her, the most serious, that of Sexual traffic with his former companion, the Financial Jeffrey Epstein, death in prison in 2019. No date has yet been fixed for sentencing, which now may be delayed.
The incident was taken seriously by the Office of the Federal Prosecutor of Manhattan, who suggested to the Tribunal to “conduct an investigation”, in particular to find out if the jury has revealed during the process of constitution of the jury, C That is, before the beginning of the hearings, have been the victim of sexual violence in the past. Information that could have been able to lead to further examination in its selection, the defense can argue from its partiality for such a case.
Inconsistency in the narrative of the victims
Judge Alison Nathan responded a little later on Wednesday, in another written document, that the request for the defense would be well examined, without deciding on an investigation. It set the January 19 date for the Defense to set out its arguments, with a deadline on February 2 for the Prosecution to respond.
In the article of the Daily Mail, the juror, a 35-year-old man, presented under his two Scotty David first names, explains that his experience has allowed him to enlighten the other jurors on the fact that victims of abuse Sexuals do not always have a linear and exact memory of their trauma.
The Defense had attacked during the trial some testimonies, falling within the inconsistencies in the narrative of the victims. “According to the juror, this revelation has influenced the deliberations and convinced the other members of the jury to condemn M me Maxwell”, write his defenders.
The jury says not to remember if he was asked if he had been a victim of sexual abuse, saying to “overflowed” the questionnaire that he had submitted to him, but he assured that he would have answered honestly if The question had been asked.
In parallel with this trial, the American justice examines the civil prosecutions brought by one of the victims of the couple, Virginia Giauffre, against the British Prince Andrew, which she accuses having raped her in 2001, when she was 17 years old. Prince Andrew, who attended the Epstein-Maxwell couple, has always vigorously denied these accusations.