Jury finds Ghislaine Maxwell guilty in sex crimes trial
New York — British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday at the federal court Thurgood Marshall in Lower Manhattan, NYC this evening of procuring underage girls to be sexually abused by the late manager Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell, turned 60 years old on Christmas Day, faced six criminal counts at her trial. Jurors deliberated for five days before finding her guilty of five of the six counts, including conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.
She was found not guilty on one count of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. She faces decades in prison when sentenced.
As Judge Alison Nathan read the jury’s verdict in Manhattan federal court, Maxwell did not appear to have any reaction behind a black face mask. At one point she pushed her hair aside, poured bottled water into a paper cup and took a sip, according to reporters in the courtroom.
Before she was escorted out of the courtroom she glanced at her siblings, who had faithfully attended each day of her trial.
“The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done. I want to commend the bravery of the girls now grown women who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom,” wrote Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a statement following the verdict.
“Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today’s result, possible,” he said.
Maxwell faces a second trial on perjury charges for allegedly lying under oath in a lawsuit filed by an accuser of Epstein. Prosecutors have not said whether they intend to try Maxwell on those remaining counts.
The British socialite was arrested in New Hampshire in July 2020, a year after Epstein was arrested on child sex trafficking charges.
During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a view of life inside Epstein’s various homes that were organized by Maxwell, his longtime companion.
Maxwell, who has been held in jail without bail since her arrest, declined to testify in her own defense, telling the judge, “The government has not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and so there’s no reason for me to testify.”
Jury deliberations began late in the day on Dec. 20, after a prosecutor and Maxwell’s lawyer gave closing arguments and after the judge instructed jurors on the law to be applied in the case.
“She manipulated her victims and groomed them,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe told jurors in her closing argument.
“She caused deep and lasting harm to young girls. It is time to hold her accountable,” Moe said.
Maxwell and Epstein for years had socialized with well-known and wealthy people, including former Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Prince Andrew of Britain.
