Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teen girls
NEW YORK, NY — British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of helping lure teenage girls to be sexually abused by the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The verdict capped a month-long trial featuring accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14.
The jury convicted Maxwell, a longtime associate of the serial sex offender Epstein, on five of six counts related to the alleged abuse and trafficking of underage girls.
Maxwell faced a six-count indictment for allegedly conspiring with and aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls between 1994 and 2004. She had been held without bail since her arrest in July 2020 and had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The verdict came on the sixth day of jury deliberations, after about 40 hours of deliberation.
Maxwell could now spend decades in prison.
It’s an end long sought by women who spent years fighting to hold Maxwell accountable for abusing them. Her lawyers said she’s being used as a scapegoat for crimes committed by Epstein, who killed himself in 2019.