Socialite Maxwell Guilty Of Sex Trafficking For Late Billionaire Epstein
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW YORK (Worthy News) – Ghislaine Maxwell has been convicted of grooming and trafficking underage girls for billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein, who allegedly committed suicide 28 months ago.
The 60-year-old British socialite and long-time lover of the late billionaire financier showed no emotion, sipping from a glass of water as she learned her fate.
Four women testified at Maxwell’s trial in New York City about the abuse they said they had suffered.
Maxwell, the daughter of disgraced late British media mogul Robert Maxwell, pleaded not guilty, saying she was a scapegoat for Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
Epstein was found dead in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial. Later, Maxwell was detained and stayed in a New York jail since July last year.
Prosecutors said the former lovers were “partners in crime” running a “pyramid scheme of abuse.”
TEENAGE GIRLS
Maxwell was accused of recruiting teenage girls to massage Epstein at his homes in Palm Beach, Florida, New York, New Mexico, and elsewhere between 1994 and 2004.
Epstein allegedly paid the girls hundreds of dollars in cash for the massages, which involved sexual touching and which he expected three times a day.
The jury found Maxwell guilty on five of six counts, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking of an individual under 18.
She was found not guilty of enticement of one individual under 17 with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity.
The trial was a far cry from when Epstein and Maxwell, then a jet-setting power couple, were welcomed by the rich and famous. They had close ties to, among others, former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, as well as Britain’s Prince Andrew, who has come under fire over alleged wrongdoing with at least one girl.
Leaks about orgies and sex parties with young girls, including Epstein’s private Caribbean island, prompted leaders and celebrities to distance themselves from Epstein publicly. They were running for the exits after a 2008 plea deal that resulted in a relatively light one-year jail sentence for Epstein.
NEW INVESTIGATION
A renewed investigation led to more serious federal sex-trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, which investigators say prompted his suicide after his arrest on those accusations.
Critics said authorities did not do enough to prevent his death, with victims fearing many abuse secrets were buried with him.
Maxwell’s trial was viewed by both Epstein’s victims and outside experts as an opportunity for prosecutors to hold enablers of the abuse accountable.
Jurors began deliberating late on December 20, with a four-day halt over Christmas weekend and reconvened Monday.
Following the guilty verdict, Maxwell’s attorneys were due to file an appeal, as she could spend the rest of her life in jail.
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