The juror who set in motion calls for a new trial in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell will not answer a judge’s questions at a scheduled hearing on March 8, his lawyer said. Juror No. 5, as he is known in court papers, will invoke his constitutional Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, lawyer Todd Spodek said in a letter made public on Wednesday.
The hearing before U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan follows Maxwell’s Dec. 29 conviction on five of the six counts she faced for helping the late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.
Maxwell’s lawyers demanded a new trial after the juror told media including Reuters that he shared with other jurors his history of sexual abuse during deliberations.
While denying Maxwell’s request, Nathan said the juror’s statements provided “incontrovertible evidence” that he responded falsely on a screening questionnaire that asked whether he had been sexually abused, denying the defense a chance to question him for bias.
Maxwell, 60, faces up to 65 years in prison. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 at the age of 66 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
