Maxwell juror regrets not disclosing sex abuse

NEW YORK (AP) — A juror told a judge Tuesday that failing to disclose his child abuse history during jury selection at the trial of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was one of the biggest mistakes of his life — but an unintentional one.

"I didn't lie in order to get on this jury," the juror said.

A U.S. judge questioned the juror extensively as part of an effort to decide whether the revelation about his personal history as a sex abuse survivor will spoil the verdict in the sex trafficking trial.

Maxwell was convicted in late December of helping the financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse multiple teenage girls from 1994 to 2004.

Sitting in a courtroom witness box, the juror repeatedly expressed regret as U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan asked him dozens of questions about why he didn't reveal the abuse on a questionnaire during the jury selection process.

The juror said he didn't mention it because he "skimmed way too fast" through the questionnaire.

"This is one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made in my life," the juror identified only as Juror No. 50 said as he looked directly at the judge.

Lawyers for Maxwell — who was present in the courtroom, clad in a dark blue jail smock — say the verdict should be thrown out.

Maxwell's lawyers potentially could have objected to the man's presence on the jury on the grounds that he might not be fair to a person accused of a similar crime.

The juror told the judge Tuesday he had been repeatedly sexually abused at age 9 and 10 by two people.

The judge gave lawyers in the case until March 15 to submit legal briefs on whether the verdict should be set aside.