Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of recruiting teenage girls for Epstein sex abuse

AFP

Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty by a US jury on Wednesday of helping the late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls, sealing a remarkable fall from grace for the British socialite.

Maxwell, 60, was accused of recruiting and grooming four teenagers between 1994 and 2004 for Epstein, her former boyfriend, who killed himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges of his own.

She was convicted on five of six counts, including one count of sex trafficking. Lawyers for Maxwell, who faces up to 65 years in prison, vowed to appeal.

Maxwell's trial was widely seen as the reckoning Epstein never had and one of the highest-profile cases.

During the month-long trial, jurors heard emotional and explicit testimony from four women who portrayed Maxwell as central to their abuse by Epstein. Three of the four said Maxwell herself touched their bare breasts or took part in the encounters, which often began as massages.

Maxwell's attorneys sought to undermine the women's credibility, arguing that they were motivated by money to implicate Maxwell since all four had received million-dollar awards from a compensation fund for Epstein's victims.

But the women disputed those characterizations, saying they decided to testify out of a desire for justice, not money.

After the verdict was read, Maxwell, wearing a burgundy turtleneck, poured herself a glass of water. Defense attorney Jeffrey Pagliuca patted her upper back. An expressionless Maxwell looked briefly at two of her siblings seated in the front row as she left the courtroom.

Annie Farmer, one of the women who testified against Maxwell, said: "I am so relieved and grateful that the jury recognized the pattern of predatory behavior that Maxwell engaged in for years and found her guilty of these crimes."

Maxwell's lawyer, Bobbi Sternheim, told reporters the defense was disappointed with the verdict.

Maxwell will return to Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, where she has been held in isolation since July 2020. Maxwell has voiced concerns about her treatment at the jail, asserting that guards have disrupted her sleep at night and that the stench of raw sewage has permeated her cell.

During the trial, prosecutors showed jurors bank records indicating Epstein paid Maxwell millions of dollars over the years. They said Maxwell was motivated to do whatever it took to keep Epstein happy in order to maintain her luxurious lifestyle.

Maxwell's attorneys argued prosecutors were scapegoating her because Epstein was no longer alive.

"Epstein's death left a gaping hole in the pursuit of justice for many of these women," Sternheim said. "She's filling that hole, and filling that empty chair."