Judge upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s intercourse trafficking conviction

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

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

29 April 2022, 22:26

• 3 min learn

NEW YORK -- A decide concluded Friday that there was sufficient 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 only be sentenced for one.

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

Legal professionals for Maxwell had requested her to reject the decision on a number of grounds, together with inadequate 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 have been duplicates of the third.

“This authorized conclusion under no circumstances 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 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 expected to have much effect on the sentencing, when Maxwell may face a sentence ranging from several years to many years in jail.

Legal professionals for Maxwell didn't return messages requesting comment. Prosecutors declined comment.

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

The juror had said he “skimmed method too quick” by means of the questionnaire and didn't intentionally give the mistaken reply to a query about intercourse abuse.

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

The choose also concluded the juror “harbored no bias toward the defendant and could function 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 intercourse trafficking trial.