Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of privilege and for decades a person who orbited the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world, will now, barring overturn on appeal, be remembered as little more than a convicted sex trafficker and facilitator of the sexual abuse of children.
Wednesday, as first reported by Reuters, a U.S. jury found the former socialite guilty on 5-of-6 counts related to the sexual exploitation of children at the hands of Maxwell and her late associate, Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell was convicted on one count of one of sex trafficking of a minor, another count of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and three counts of conspiracy related to the same. She was acquitted of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.
“A unanimous jury has found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of one of the worst crimes imaginable – facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Crimes that she committed with her long-time partner and co-conspirator, Jeffrey Epstein. The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done.”
Maxwell faces up to 65 years in prison, an effective life sentence given that she is 60. The crime of sex trafficking a minor carries a maximum penalty of 40 years, while the transporting charge could result in 10 years, and three conspiracy convictions five years apiece.
No date has yet been announced for her sentencing.
CNN’s Laura Ly reported Wednesday night that attorneys for Maxwell have begun working on an appeal, and quoted Bobbi Sternheim, one of the attorneys representing Maxwell, as having said, “We firmly believe in Ghislaine’s innocence. Obviously, we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started working on the appeal. And we are confident that she will [be] vindicated.”
According to a report from England’s The Independent, Maxwell had no visible reaction upon hearing the verdict. The jury had deliberated for 40 hours over six days before announcing its findings.
Some of Epstein’s victims expressed relief at the verdict, and Williams heralded the efforts of the women who had come forward to share their stories of abuse at the hands of Epstein and Maxwell. Their testimony, he said, was a key in securing a conviction.
“I want to commend the bravery of the girls – now grown women – who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom,” Williams said. “Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today’s result, possible.”
Wednesday’s verdict was years in the making. Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 but had been connected to Epstein’s misdeeds for decades more.
Epstein, a man connected to international powerbrokers and celebrities, had been under suspicion of sexually exploiting children since 2005, and is believed to have engaged in these acts for far longer. It is alleged in one lawsuit, that Epstein sexually abused multiple minors as early as 1985.
Prior to her arrest, Maxwell had gone into hiding and attempted to communicate with investigators and the courts through her attorneys.
The trial has also attracted conspiracy theorists, most notably Qanon supporters who believe Maxwell and Epstein to have been central figures in an international cabal of child sex abusers. In January, as reported by The Guardian, a Maxwell hearing was disrupted when the judge learned that someone was livestreaming the proceeding on YouTube, which is against the law.