Decide upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking conviction

A trial choose has concluded there was enough proof to convict Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

29 April 2022, 22:26

• 3 min read

NEW YORK -- A choose concluded Friday that there was sufficient proof to convict British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking women for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse, however she additionally gave Maxwell a authorized victory by concluding that three conspiracy counts charged the identical crime and she will be able to only be sentenced for one.

U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan mentioned in her written ruling that the jury’s responsible verdicts had been “readily supported” by intensive witness testimony and documentary evidence at a one-month trial that concluded in December.

Legal professionals for Maxwell had asked her to reject the decision on multiple grounds, together with inadequate evidence.

Maxwell, 60, was convicted of recruiting teenage women for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse from 1994 to 2004.

Nathan said that she'll solely sentence Maxwell in late June on three of the five counts she was convicted on after concluding that two conspiracy counts had been duplicates of the third.

“This authorized conclusion in no way calls into question the factual findings made by the jury. Rather, it underscores that the jury unanimously found — three times over — that the Defendant is responsible of conspiring with Epstein to entice, transport, and visitors underage ladies for sexual abuse,” Nathan wrote.

The discount of counts from five to 3 was not expected to have much impact on the sentencing, when Maxwell might face a sentence ranging from several years to a long time in prison.

Legal professionals for Maxwell did not return messages requesting comment. Prosecutors declined remark.

Earlier this month, the decide refused to toss out Maxwell's conviction after a juror disclosed to different jurors during jury deliberations that he had been sexually abused as a baby despite the fact that he had not revealed that truth in response to questions about prior sex abuse posed in a written questionnaire.

The juror had mentioned he “skimmed way too quick” via the questionnaire and didn't deliberately give the incorrect answer to a query about sex abuse.

In refusing to toss the decision, Nathan mentioned the juror’s failure to reveal his prior sexual abuse in the course of the jury choice process was extremely unlucky, however not deliberate.

The choose additionally concluded the juror “harbored no bias towards the defendant and could function a fair and impartial juror.”

Maxwell, arrested in July 2020, has remained incarcerated. Epstein was 66 when he took his personal life in a federal jail cell in August 2019 as he awaited a intercourse trafficking trial.