Ghislaine Maxwell family ‘shocked’ by denial of new trial

In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell enters the courtroom in New York (Elizabeth Williams/AP)

The siblings of Ghislaine Maxwell have said they are “profoundly shocked and troubled” that a judge rejected a new trial for the British socialite on sex trafficking charges despite revelations that a juror who helped to convict her failed to disclose he was sexually abused as a child.

In a statement, the “Maxwell Family” said it was focused on an appeal against US District Judge Alison J Nathan’s ruling last Friday that left intact Maxwell’s conviction on charges that she served as the key recruiter of teenage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse from 1994 to 2004.