NEW YORK (AP) — A Ghislaine Maxwell trial juror whose post-verdict revelation that he had suffered child sex abuse has jeopardized Maxwell’s conviction may receive immunity to testify before the judge mulling whether the verdict will stand.
Prosecutors said in a submission to U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan on Wednesday that they were in the process of seeking approvals to offer immunity to the man to compel his testimony at a hearing next Tuesday. They said the immunity offer was considered after the juror’s lawyer told the judge that his client planned to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination at the hearing.
As Maxwell awaits a June sentencing, her lawyers are seeking to have the verdict overturned on the grounds that the juror identified in court documents as “Juror No. 50” would never have been on the jury if he had accurately answered questions on a 50-point questionnaire filled out by prospective jurors in November.
The juror checked the “No” box to Question 48, which asked: “Have you or a friend or family member ever been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault? (This includes actual or attempted sexual assault or other unwanted sexual advance, including by a stranger, acquaintance, supervisor, teacher, or family member.)”
Nathan said she plans to ask the juror about his answers to Question 48 and Question 25, which asked: “Have you, or any of your relatives or close friends, ever been a victim of a crime?” Juror No. 50 also checked the “No” box in response to that question.
The controversy arose in January when the juror told news outlets that he had disclosed to fellow jurors during a weeklong deliberation that he was a child sex abuse victim and convinced other jurors that a victim’s imperfect memory of sex abuse doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
The juror has said he flew through the questionnaire and didn’t remember being asked whether he was a sex abuse survivor.
Defense lawyers asked the judge to toss out the verdict based on the juror’s revelations and order a new trial. But Nathan said last week she would limit the inquiry to her posing questions to Juror No. 50.
