Decide upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s intercourse trafficking conviction

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

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Related 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 intercourse 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 same crime and she will be able to solely be sentenced for one.

U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan mentioned in her written ruling that the jury’s guilty verdicts were “readily supported” by in depth 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 a number of grounds, including insufficient evidence.

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

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

“This authorized conclusion on no account calls into query the factual findings made by the jury. Moderately, it underscores that the jury unanimously discovered — 3 times over — that the Defendant is guilty of conspiring with Epstein to entice, transport, and traffic underage women for sexual abuse,” Nathan wrote.

The reduction of counts from five to 3 was not anticipated to have much impact on the sentencing, when Maxwell may face a sentence starting from a number of years to a long time in jail.

Attorneys for Maxwell did not return messages requesting comment. Prosecutors declined comment.

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

The juror had mentioned he “skimmed approach too fast” by the questionnaire and did not intentionally give the flawed reply to a query about sex abuse.

In refusing to toss the decision, Nathan stated the juror’s failure to disclose his prior sexual abuse during the jury choice process was highly unfortunate, however not deliberate.

The judge additionally concluded the juror “harbored no bias towards the defendant and will serve as 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 sex trafficking trial.