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 Related Press

29 April 2022, 22:26

• 3 min read

NEW YORK -- A judge concluded Friday that there was enough proof to convict British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking ladies 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 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 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 solely sentence Maxwell in late June on three of the 5 counts she was convicted on after concluding that two conspiracy counts had been duplicates of the third.

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

The reduction of counts from five to three was not anticipated to have a lot impact on the sentencing, when Maxwell might 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 remark.

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 toddler regardless that he had not revealed that truth in response to questions about prior sex abuse posed in a written questionnaire.

The juror had said he “skimmed means too fast” through the questionnaire and didn't 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 through the jury choice process was extremely unfortunate, but not deliberate.

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