Judge upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking conviction

A trial decide has concluded there was sufficient evidence 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 enough evidence 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 identical crime and she will only be sentenced for one.

U.S. District Decide Alison J. Nathan mentioned in her written ruling that the jury’s responsible verdicts had been “readily supported” by extensive 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 a number of 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 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 question the factual findings made by the jury. Somewhat, it underscores that the jury unanimously found — three times over — that the Defendant is responsible of conspiring with Epstein to entice, transport, and traffic underage women for sexual abuse,” Nathan wrote.

The discount of counts from 5 to 3 was not anticipated to have a lot impact on the sentencing, when Maxwell might face a sentence starting from several years to a long time in prison.

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

Earlier this month, the choose 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 toddler though he had not revealed that reality in response to questions on prior intercourse abuse posed in a written questionnaire.

The juror had stated he “skimmed means too quick” via the questionnaire and did not intentionally give the flawed reply to a query about sex abuse.

In refusing to toss the decision, Nathan mentioned the juror’s failure to disclose his prior sexual abuse in the course of the jury selection process was highly unfortunate, but not deliberate.

The decide also concluded the juror “harbored no bias toward the defendant and will serve as a fair and neutral 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.