A federal judge will question a Ghislaine Maxwell juror on whether he lied during jury selection

• A Ghislaine Maxwell juror will be questioned under oath about whether he lied during jury selection.
• Juror #50 revealed to media outlets that he discussed being sexually abused during deliberations.

A federal judge said in a court filing Thursday she will question one of the Ghislaine Maxwell jurors under oath next month to determine whether he lied during the jury selection process about his past experiences with sexual abuse.

Juror #50, who identified himself publicly as Scotty David (his first and middle names), threw Maxwell's conviction into doubt last month when he told multiple media outlets he had been sexually abused as a child and discussed his experiences with fellow jurors while they deliberated Maxwell's fate.

Though past sexual abuse experience is not disqualifying for prospective jurors, defense attorneys typically question them extensively about experiences that could reveal a potential bias against the defendant. In Maxwell's case, the pre-trial jury questionnaire asked all prospective jurors whether they or their loved ones had been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault.

"To be clear, the potential impropriety is not that someone with a history of sexual abuse may have served on the jury," Judge Alison Nathan wrote in her order on Thursday. "Rather, it is the potential failure to respond truthfully to questions during the jury selection process that asked for that material information so that any potential bias could be explored."

Nathan said Juror #50's hearing will take place March 8.

David told media outlets he had discussed his sexual abuse experiences with jurors when some of them expressed doubts about the witnesses who testified at trial. David said he helped convince those jurors to believe the witnesses, explaining that his memories of his own abuse had similar gaps.

"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," David told The Independent. "But I can't remember all the details, there are some things that run together."

Ultimately, the jury convicted Maxwell, the longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate, of sex trafficking in December 2021 after a weeks-long high-publicity trial. Maxwell's attorneys requested a new trial in light of David's disclosures, but Nathan on Thursday denied that motion for the time being, saying a hearing would be necessary first.

"The Court would have to accept unsworn statements made to media outlets as true and reach factual determinations that are not available on the current record," Nathan wrote.

A letter to the court filed by David's attorney, Todd Spodek, was also unsealed Thursday and requested a copy of David's questionnaire.

Spodek wrote that his client "does not recall answering questions regarding his prior experience with sexual assault," and noted that jurors can face criminal exposure for their answers on jury questionnaires, which are filled out while the prospective jurors are under oath.

Also on Thursday, Nathan granted Spodek's request for a copy of David's questionnaire.