2 years ago
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Image source, Reuters
Image caption,Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted on sexual abuse charges on 30 December
Ghislaine Maxwell has officially requested a retrial, weeks after she was convicted on sexual abuse charges.
The 60-year-old was found guilty of recruiting and trafficking young girls to be sexually abused by the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein.
She has yet to be sentenced and faces up to 65 years in jail.
The retrial request comes after a juror in the case told media that he used his own experience of being sexually abused to influence jurors reaching a verdict.
In Wednesday's court filing in New York, one of Maxwell's lawyers asked for it to remain publicly released until the court rules on "submissions pertaining to Juror 50". They did not name the juror.
Maxwell was found guilty on five of the six counts she faced - including the most serious charge, that of sex trafficking a minor.
Her jail term will be decided by US District Judge Alison Nathan, who has not yet set a sentencing date.
For the moment, Judge Nathan will be waiting to receive a pre-sentence report. This will be compiled by an impartial investigator who will look into things like Maxwell's background, family, education and employment history to determine if any of these should influence the severity or leniency of the sentence.
Maxwell was found guilty of:
- sex trafficking of a minor
- transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
- conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
- conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors
- conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts
She was found not guilty of one count - enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.
Sarah Ransome describes the moment she locked eyes with Ghislaine Maxwell in court
English (US)