Judge upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking conviction

A trial decide 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 read

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

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

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

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

Nathan stated 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 were duplicates of the third.

“This authorized conclusion under no circumstances calls into question the factual findings made by the jury. Fairly, it underscores that the jury unanimously found — 3 times over — that the Defendant is guilty of conspiring with Epstein to entice, transport, and visitors underage women for sexual abuse,” Nathan wrote.

The reduction of counts from 5 to a few was not anticipated to have a lot impact on the sentencing, when Maxwell may face a sentence ranging from a number of years to a long time in jail.

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

Earlier this month, the choose 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 toddler 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 method too fast” via the questionnaire and did not deliberately give the fallacious reply to a query about sex abuse.

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

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

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