- One of the jurors in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial was dismissed after his wife surprised him with a last-minute vacation for Christmas.
- After considering the timing, the judge agreed to free the juror of his duty to avoid holing up the trial.
- Maxwell is accused of child sex trafficking while assisting longtime friend Jeffrey Epstein.
A juror in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial was excused from the case after his wife surprised him with a last-minute vacation for Christmas, Bloomberg reported.
Judge Alison Nathan agreed to let the 33-year-old man off jury duty after considering the timing of the trial, which is expected to run about six weeks and straight through the Christmas holiday, according to Bloomberg.
The judge even asked the juror to try to delay the trip since she did not want to have to push the trial back to accommodate his vacation, but according to Bloomberg, the juror said canceling the vacation would be a financial burden.
This juror will be replaced by one of six alternates.
Maxwell, 59, has been accused of child sex trafficking during her years-long friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Her trial began Monday, where her defense attorneys claimed that the charges against her were part of an effort by federal prosecutors to distract from their failure to keep Epstein alive in custody.
Epstein died by suicide in a federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Maxwell has denied all wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. If she's convicted on all charges, she could face up to 80 years in prison.
