Decide upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex 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 intercourse trafficking women for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse, however she also gave Maxwell a legal victory by concluding that three conspiracy counts charged the identical crime and she will solely be sentenced for one.

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

Legal professionals for Maxwell had requested 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 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 were duplicates of the third.

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

The reduction of counts from five to three was not anticipated to have a lot effect on the sentencing, when Maxwell could face a sentence starting from a number of years to many years in prison.

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

Earlier this month, the decide 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 toddler despite the fact that he had not revealed that reality in response to questions on prior sex abuse posed in a written questionnaire.

The juror had stated he “skimmed means too fast” via the questionnaire and didn't deliberately give the fallacious answer to a query about intercourse abuse.

In refusing to toss the decision, Nathan said the juror’s failure to reveal his prior sexual abuse through the jury selection process was highly unfortunate, but not deliberate.

The judge additionally concluded the juror “harbored no bias towards the defendant and could function 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.