Ghislaine Maxwell is set to be sentenced for sex trafficking crimes on June 28 

Disgraced socialite Ghislaine Maxwell is set to be sentenced on sex trafficking crimes on June 28.

The sentencing date was set by Judge Alison Nathan on Friday afternoon.  

Maxwell, 60, was convicted of facilitating the sexual abuse of minors by her former partner, Jeffrey Epstein, on December 29. She faces 65 years in prison, meaning she could spend the rest of her life behind bars. 

She was found guilty on five of six counts of sex trafficking – a spectacular downfall for the former London society girl who later moved into the highest circles of New York’s social scene. 

Maxwell’s lawyers last week demanded a new trial after a juror revealed he had helped convict the former socialite by telling fellow jury members about his experience of sexual abuse.

Maxwell was found guilty on five of six counts of sex trafficking – a spectacular downfall for the former London society girl who later moved into the highest circles of New York’s social scene. Pictured: Maxwell with Epstein

According to court documents dated January 10, the US government has now offered to drop two perjury charges linked to claims Maxwell made in a 2016 deposition in a separate civil lawsuit should the sex crimes conviction stand. Each perjury charge carries a maximum five-year prison term.

The charges allege the convicted sex trafficker lied under oath by hiding her participation in Epstein’s offences during a separate civil case brought against her by the Prince Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre.

DailyMail.com revealed last week that one juror, Scotty David, had suffered sexual abuse. He said that he could not remember being asked about his own sexual history but vaguely recalled a question on the potential juror questionnaire concerning friends or family.

Maxwell’s attorneys told the Mail on Sunday that they believe they found a third juror who lied about being abused, after a second unidentified juror told The New York Times that they, too, had been abused as a child.

The first juror to reveal their sexual abuse, David, said he couldn’t remember how he answered a pre-trial question about his own sexual abuse history – casting doubt on the validity of Maxwell’s conviction – and he has asked the judge to see his answers.

Maxwell, who is said to have been Epstein’s madam as well as his one-time girlfriend, is seen posing with the pedophile in evidence photos shown in court

Prince Andrew is seen with his arm around Virginia Roberts while Ghislaine Maxwell stands in the background, in a now infamous photo from early 2001 

He has since retained lawyer Todd Spodek, who asked the court to provide the questionnaire, according to the New York Daily News. He could face perjury charges if he’s found to have intentionally lied. 

David, 35, has claimed that he used his experience being sexually assaulted to influence other jurors, saying: ‘When I shared that, they were able to come around on the memory aspect of the sexual abuse.’ 

But video published by DailyMail.com last week revealed that David couldn’t remember if the pre-trial questionnaire asked about sexual abuse history – which it did.    

Maxwell’s lawyers last week demanded a new trial after juror Scotty David, 35, revealed he had helped convict the former socialite by telling fellow jury members about his experience of sexual abuse

Court filings obtained by DailyMail.com show that the ex-socialite’s defense team mounted a vigorous effort to ask two such questions in a bid to weed out anyone ‘who cannot be a fair juror,’ and that they did so in the face of strenuous government objections.

In demanding a retrial, Maxwell’s lawyers set out their position in a letter to the court, stating: ‘The defense requests that the court delay setting a schedule for sentencing because there is a compelling basis for the court to overturn Ms Maxwell’s conviction and grant her a new trial based on the disclosures of Juror 50 during deliberations.

‘The defense therefore objects to setting a schedule for sentencing until this motion is resolved.

‘Furthermore, requiring Ms Maxwell to participate in the preparation of the pre-sentence investigation report, while she is awaiting a decision on her motion for a new trial, will adversely impact her Fifth Amendment rights (the right to silence so as not to incriminate oneself).

‘Ms Maxwell will be forced into the position of not cooperating with the probation department’s investigation because any statement she makes to Probation, and any documents she provides, may be used against her at her retrial.’   

Maxwell was convicted last month, when the six men and six women jury found her guilty of sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and three counts of conspiracy. She was found not guilty of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.