Gislaine Maxwell Found Guilty of Conspiring in Epstein Sex Abuse

A federal jury in Manhattan has found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of sex trafficking, and four of the five other charges against her, for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein for at least a decade to recruit, groom and sexually abuse underage girls, reports the New York Times. She was acquitted of one count of enticing a minor to travel across state lines to engage in an illegal sexual act. In her trial, the government called four accusers — two used pseudonyms and one only a partial name — who testified that they had been served up to Epstein to be sexually abused.

Maxwell was present for some of the abuse, according to the testimony, and played a role in enticing and grooming some of the victims. On the most serious of the counts for which she was convicted — sex trafficking of minors — she could face up to 40 years in prison. Another count carries a potential 10-year sentence, and the three others, all conspiracy counts, carry sentences of up to five years each. The jury rejected Maxwell’s defense, which centered on an argument that the government’s case was based on flimsy evidence, prosecutors’ animus toward Epstein and the inconsistent accounts of women who were motivated by money to point the finger at Maxwell.