Ghislaine Maxwell: Prosecutors Offer To Drop Perjury Charges If Sex Trafficking Conviction Is Denied A Retrial
Jan. 11 2022, Published 12:09 p.m. ET
The prosecutors in the case against convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell have reportedly offered to drop charges of perjury against the former British socialite if her guilty conviction for sex trafficking is allowed to stand rather than go to retrial.
According to new court documents, the United States government – who were the prosecutors in Maxwell’s federal trial where she was found guilty of grooming and trafficking underage girls for the late billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – is offering to drop two charges of perjury against the former businesswoman if her defense team’s motions for a retrial are denied.
“In the event the defendant's post-trial motions are denied, the Government is prepared to dismiss the severed perjury counts at the time of sentencing, in light of the victims' significant interests in bringing closure to this matter and avoiding the trauma of testifying again,” the prosecution’s letter to Judge Alison J. Nathan read on Monday.
“If any of the defendant's post-trial motions are granted, the government proposes that the parties be directed to promptly confer and propose a schedule for further proceedings,” the letter continued. “That schedule may depend on the manner in which the court resolves such motions.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Maxwell’s defense team is arguing there are grounds for a retrial after one of the jurors told the media that he was suffered sexual abuse as a minor. He even disclosed his experience as a sexual assault victim to the other jurors in the case, revealing he didn't report the incident until much later, like Maxwell's victims.
“I know what happened when I was sexually abused. I remember the color of the carpet, the walls. Some of it can be replayed like a video,” Juror 50, who insisted he only be named as Scotty David, revealed after Maxwell’s guilty conviction. “But I can’t remember all the details, there are some things that run together.”
“When I shared that, they were able to come around on the memory aspect of the sexual abuse,” David added, insinuating that he used his own experience of sexual abuse to influence the other jurors during deliberations.
Now, Maxwell’s team is using David’s claims as ammo to demand a retrial for their client – or at least to delay the sentencing of their client until the request of a retrial is either granted or denied.
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“The defence requests that the court delay setting a schedule for sentencing because there is a compelling basis for the court to overturn Ms. Maxwell's conviction and grant her a new trial based on the disclosures of Juror 50 during deliberations,” the defense team’s own letter to the judge reads.
“The defence therefore objects to setting a schedule for sentencing until this motion is resolved.”
Maxwell was found guilty last month on five out of six counts in connection to grooming and trafficking underage girls. She faces up to 65 years in prison for the five charges. Maxwell could five more years for each count of perjury if those charges go to trial and she is found guilty.
