Choose upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s intercourse trafficking conviction

A trial judge has concluded there was sufficient evidence to convict Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

29 April 2022, 22:26

• 3 min read

NEW YORK -- A decide concluded Friday that there was enough evidence 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 identical crime and she can solely be sentenced for one.

U.S. District Decide Alison J. Nathan mentioned in her written ruling that the jury’s guilty verdicts have been “readily supported” by in depth 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, together with inadequate proof.

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

Nathan stated 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 under no circumstances calls into question the factual findings made by the jury. Rather, it underscores that the jury unanimously found — thrice over — that the Defendant is guilty of conspiring with Epstein to entice, transport, and site visitors underage girls for sexual abuse,” Nathan wrote.

The discount of counts from five to a few was not expected to have a lot impact on the sentencing, when Maxwell might face a sentence ranging from a number of years to a long time in jail.

Legal professionals for Maxwell did not return messages requesting comment. 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 baby although 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 fast” via the questionnaire and didn't deliberately give the incorrect answer to a question about intercourse abuse.

In refusing to toss the verdict, Nathan stated the juror’s failure to reveal his prior sexual abuse during the jury selection process was highly unlucky, however not deliberate.

The judge 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.