Decide upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s intercourse trafficking conviction

A trial judge has concluded there was enough evidence to convict Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

29 April 2022, 22:26

• 3 min learn

NEW YORK -- A decide concluded Friday that there was sufficient evidence to convict British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse, however she also gave Maxwell a legal victory by concluding that three conspiracy counts charged the same crime and she will be able to solely be sentenced for one.

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

Legal professionals for Maxwell had asked her to reject the verdict on multiple grounds, including inadequate proof.

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

Nathan mentioned that she'll solely sentence Maxwell in late June on three of the 5 counts she was convicted on after concluding that two conspiracy counts were duplicates of the third.

“This legal conclusion in no way calls into query the factual findings made by the jury. Quite, it underscores that the jury unanimously discovered — 3 times over — that the Defendant is responsible of conspiring with Epstein to entice, transport, and site visitors underage ladies for sexual abuse,” Nathan wrote.

The discount of counts from 5 to three was not anticipated to have much impact on the sentencing, when Maxwell might face a sentence ranging from a number of years to a long time in jail.

Legal professionals for Maxwell didn't return messages requesting comment. Prosecutors declined comment.

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

The juror had stated he “skimmed means too quick” by way of the questionnaire and did not intentionally give the incorrect answer to a query about sex abuse.

In refusing to toss the decision, Nathan mentioned the juror’s failure to disclose his prior sexual abuse during the jury choice process was extremely unlucky, but not deliberate.

The judge also concluded the juror “harbored no bias toward the defendant and could serve as a good 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 sex trafficking trial.