Ghislaine Maxwell prosecutors, defense raise concerns after juror details past sexual abuse

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys in the case of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted on five counts related to the grooming and trafficking of underage girls for late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, raised concerns regarding a juror who provided interviews to several media outlets following the trial in which he disclosed that he had been a victim of sexual abuse.

The juror, who has only used his first and middle name and is attributed as Scotty David, spoke to several news outlets, including The Independent, DailyMail.com and Reuters, following the trial. David revealed that he told jurors that he was a victim of sexual abuse.

“When I shared that, they were able to sort of come around on, they were able to come around on the memory aspect of the sexual abuse,” he told Reuters during a phone interview published on Wednesday, noting that he mentioned his experience to other jurors after several expressed they were unsure of two women’s accounts.

At issue is whether David made this history clear during a questionnaire given to prospective jurors.

According to court records, potential jurors were asked if they or someone within their family had experienced sexual abuse in a questionnaire used in the jury selection, Reuters noted. Questions regarding whether a juror believed this could affect their impartiality in the case, if they answered yes, would later be addressed with them by a judge involved in the trial.

David told Reuters he did not remember being asked about the question on either the questionnaire or follow-up questioning but affirmed he would have been honest had he been asked. He said that he “flew through” the questionnaire when he completed it.

Prosecutors wrote to Judge Alison Nathan on Wednesday and asked that an investigation be opened up into the matter.

“The Government proposes that the Court schedule a hearing in approximately one month, along with an appropriate schedule for pre-hearing briefing regarding the applicable law and the scope of the hearing,” prosecutors said. “The Government respectfully submits that any juror investigation should be conducted exclusively under the supervision of the Court.”

Maxwell’s defense, meanwhile, argued that a new trial should be held instead.

“The government’s request for a hearing is premature because based on undisputed, publicly available information, the Court can and should order a new trial without any evidentiary hearing,” her attorneys said to Nathan in a letter dated Wednesday.