Jury Returns Guilty Verdict In 5 Of 6 Counts Against Ghislaine Maxwell

Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite, and accomplice of convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, was found guilty Wednesday on five of the six counts against her.

A jury found Maxwell guilty of conspiring with Epstein to groom, recruit, and sexually abuse underage girls. She was found guilty on several counts of conspiring to entice minors to travel across state lines for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity and conspiring to sex traffic minors. Maxwell was acquitted on count two, which was enticing accuser “Jane” to travel with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity.

The sixth count, trafficking then-minor “Carolyn,” carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, the fourth count, transporting “Jane” to engage in illegal sexual activity, carries a maximum of 10 years and the other three conspiracy counts each carry a maximum sentence of 5 years each.

Closing arguments in Maxwell’s case began Dec. 20, after a three-week trial.

Prosecutors argued that “Maxwell and Epstein were a wealthy couple who used their privilege to prey on kids from struggling families.”Adding that “The way that they selected these girls tells you that they were targeting vulnerable kids. It is not an accident that Jane and Kate and Annie and Carolyn all came from single-mother households.”

“She was a sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing,” prosecutor Alison Moe said. “When you’re with someone for 11 years, you know what they like.”

Maxwell’s defense alleged the trial was a proxy trial against Epstein.

“She’s being tried here for being with Jeffrey Epstein, and maybe that was the biggest mistake of her life, but it was not a crime,” Maxwell attorney Laura Menninger argued.