Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell have filed a motion for a retrial, just weeks after she was found guilty of recruiting underage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein.
The 60-year-old Briton, who is an ex-girlfriend of the late billionaire paedophile, is due to be sentenced in June after her conviction in a New York court.
She was accused of recruiting and grooming four teenagers for Epstein to molest at his various properties between 1994 and 2004.
‘Partners in crime’: The intimate pictures of Maxwell and Epstein shown in court
The court heard her described as “dangerous” and Epstein’s “partner in crime” before she was found guilty of five out of six counts she faced.
But after the verdict, a juror – who has not been publicly identified – admitted telling other jurors he was sexually abused as a child and used his experiences to persuade others to convict Maxwell.
How girls were lured to be abused by Epstein
Earlier this month Maxwell’s lawyers wrote to Judge Alison Nathan saying the issue “presents incontrovertible grounds for a new trial”.
In the latest development, a letter to the judge on Wednesday, lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said: “Today, counsel for Ghislaine Maxwell filed her Motion For A New Trial (the “motion”) and accompanying exhibits under seal.
“For the reasons set forth in the motion, we request that all submissions pertaining to Juror No 50 remain under seal until the court rules on the motion.”