Decide upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s intercourse trafficking conviction

A trial judge has concluded there was enough evidence to convict Ghislaine Maxwell of intercourse trafficking

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

29 April 2022, 22:26

• 3 min read

NEW YORK -- A decide concluded Friday that there was sufficient proof to convict British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell of sex 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 Decide Alison J. Nathan mentioned in her written ruling that the jury’s guilty verdicts were “readily supported” by extensive 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 multiple grounds, including inadequate evidence.

Maxwell, 60, was convicted of recruiting teenage ladies 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 by no means calls into query the factual findings made by the jury. Quite, it underscores that the jury unanimously found — 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 discount of counts from five to three was not expected to have a lot effect on the sentencing, when Maxwell may face a sentence ranging from a number of years to many years 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 other jurors throughout jury deliberations that he had been sexually abused as a baby even though he had not revealed that reality in response to questions about prior intercourse abuse posed in a written questionnaire.

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

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

The decide additionally concluded the juror “harbored no bias toward 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 intercourse trafficking trial.