Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, was convicted on five of the six charges she faced, including the most serious felony of sex trafficking a minor.
A 12-person jury in New York made the decision after five days of deliberation.
This implies that the British socialite may serve the rest of her life in prison.
The decision came after a month-long trial in which four women testified about being assaulted by Epstein between 1994 and 2004.
Maxwell showed no expression as the verdict was read out on Wednesday, instead pouring herself a glass of water and sipping it twice.
Maxwell was found guilty of:
- sex trafficking of a minor
- transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
- conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
- conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors
- conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts
“I am so relieved and grateful that the jury recognised [her] pattern of predatory behaviour,” Annie Farmer, one of the women who testified against Maxwell, said.
“I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law,” she added.
She was acquitted on one count of enticing a minor to travel for the purpose of engaging in illegal sex acts.
The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, applauded the verdict and praised the victims’ “bravery” in coming forward.
The process of “grooming” underage girls for abuse, according to prosecutors, was a significant aspect of Maxwell’s “playbook.”
Maxwell, a longtime acquaintance of convicted child sex offender Epstein, has been in prison since July 2020, when she was charged with complicity in the financier’s sexual assault of girls. Some of the victims were as young as fourteen years old.
While awaiting trial on sex trafficking accusations, Epstein committed suicide in 2019.
All of the women who testified said Epstein sexually abused them before they were 18 years old, and that Maxwell encouraged, facilitated, and even participated in the sexual encounters.
Maxwell’s sentencing date has yet to be determined.
Her legal team announced shortly after the verdict that they were already planning an appeal.
“We firmly believe in Ghislaine’s innocence,” her lawyer, Bobbi Sternheim said.
Image Credit: Getty
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