Ghislaine Maxwell's case retried after juror comments on sexual abuse
A jury last week convicted Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking.
Two jurors this week admitted to sharing their own experiences of sexual abuse during deliberations.
Experts called the comments "an absolute disaster" and said it's very likely the case gets retried.
A week after Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking, two jurors in the case told media outlets that they may have swayed the jury by sharing their own experiences of sexual abuse during deliberations — revelations that could jeopardize the entire trial.
Maxwell, a British socialite and longtime associate of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted on five of the six counts against her on December 29 after five days of deliberation.
A juror, Scotty David, identified only by his first and middle names, told The Independent and Reuters that he used his personal experience of abuse to assuage doubts other jurors had about some of the accusers' testimonies. A second juror told The New York Times they also shared a personal experience of sexual abuse that "appeared to help shape the jury's discussions."
Prosecutors filed a letter Wednesday requesting an inquiry into the remarks, Insider's Michelle Mark reported. Shortly after, Maxwell's attorneys filed two letters requesting a new trial.
Attorneys told Insider that the jurors' remarks to the media were devastating for the prosecution and could likely mean the case would need to be retried.
"This is the absolute last thing you want when you get a guilty verdict," Neama Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, told Insider. "You don't want the jurors talking to the media. You don't want them saying something that will result in a mistrial."
"It's an absolute disaster," he said. "This entire conviction may get tossed, and we may have to retry the case."