GHISLAINE MAXWELL GUILTY
OF SEX TRAFFICKING UNDERAGE GIRLS FOR JEFFREY EPSTEIN BUT SHOWS NO EMOTION AS VERDICT IS READ OUT DESPITE HER NOW FACING UP TO 65 YEARS IN PRISON
Women claimed Maxwell had recruited them when they were teens to take part in orgies with Epstein at his properties around the world
Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty of sex trafficking and other charges. After six days of deliberation, a jury of six men and six women found the British socialite guilty on five of six counts - all except enticing an individual under the age of 17 to travel with intent to engage in illegal sex acts.
She faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison for all five counts. The sixth count - sex trafficking of an individual under the age of 18- carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set.
A New York judge Justice Alison Nathan read out the verdict, Maxwell remained seated and did not appear to react. She calmly opened a bottle of water and poured herself a glass.
Her lawyer Jeff Pagliuca sat next to her, put his arm around her and gave her a hug and she leaned into his shoulder. In the public gallery sat her siblings Isabel, Christine and Kevin: only Isabel appeared to react and hang her head as the verdicts were read out.
Maxwell walked out of court flanked by two security guards. She walked out of court without being handcuffed or shackled but her confident swagger was gone, replaced by a slower walk with her head down as she exited through a door at the back of the room which led to the cells.
She managed one look back and walked out with her head held down. In the elevator Maxwell’s lawyer and close friend Leah Saffian appeared red eyed and distraught.
Maxwell’s lawyer Bobbi Sternheim asked if it was possible for Maxwell to get her booster shot to protect her from COVID-19. Judge Nathan said it was ‘available’ at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, where she is being held, and that she would ‘look into it’.
Judge Nathan said the decision was ‘unanimous’ and asked each juror to confirm that it was correct by passing around a microphone. Each answered that yes it was - one male juror was seen rubbing his eyes and forehead.
Maxwell is expected to be placed on suicide watch in jail after jurors agreed she was Epstein’s ‘partner in horrific crimes’. She masterminded a sick scheme to round up schoolgirls on an industrial scale for them and their friends to molest.
Maxwell’s siblings
Maxwell’s siblings Kevin, Christine and Isabel walked out of court and declined to comment.
Christine and Isabel walked arm in arm and later Kevin took Christine’s arm and they quietly walked to the nearby office they have been renting.
The Maxwell family released a statement saying, “We believe firmly in our sister’s innocence— we are very disappointed with the
verdict. We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated.”
It was a sensational month-long trial filled with tearful testimony, a trove of never-before-seen photos submitted into evidence, and shocking claims that the British socialite was a ‘sophisticated predator.’ The daughter of the late tycoon Robert Maxwell, who rubbed shoulders with two U.S presidents, a pope and a host of global A-listers, was utterly deserted by all her VIP friends, including the Duke of York, during her four-week trial for sex trafficking vulnerable teenagers.
The jury unanimously believed four women who gave chilling testimonies of being ‘served up’ as children for sexual abuse by Maxwell to her financier lover. After the verdicts were handed out, victims of Epstein, who is said to have abused hundreds of girls and
young women, rejoiced.
Accuser Annie Farmer, who testified she was 16 when she was lured into a terrifying sex trap by Maxwell, was ‘sobbing with joy’ last night, said her sister Maria.
She added: “We are proud of one another. I have spent every moment for seven years, working towards this verdict. No pay, just due diligence. I never gave up. This is the best thing I have ever had happen in my life. It means I don’t have to hide.”
Before the verdict
Before Wednesday’s verdict, the jury asked for the transcripts of 14 witnesses: there were 33 in total for the defense and prosecution.
They asked for the evidence from Shawn, the boyfriend of the accuser Carolyn; Cimberly Espinoza, Maxwell’s personal assistant at Epstein’s New York office, and the defense ‘false memory’ expert Elizabeth Loftus.
The jury also asked for testimony from FBI agents Amanda Young and Jason Richards, the lead agents in the 2019 investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, and testimony from Larry Visoski, Epstein’s other pilot.
On Tuesday, Judge Alison Nathan said that if a verdict was not reached by the end of Wednesday she would tell the jury it would have to sit on the weekend until reaching a verdict.
Judge Nathan had planned to sit only until Wednesday and then let the jurors off for the holiday, but the Omicron variant has thwarted those plans.
She said that the rising number of Omicron cases was ‘putting at risk our ability to complete this trial.’
The jurors said they were ‘moving along’ and that they are making progress in the case but they failed to reach a verdict on the fifth day of deliberations. But at 4.50pm on Wednesday, day 18 of the trial and after 40 hours of deliberations - the jury reached a verdict.
The atmosphere in courtroom 318 became tense and journalists who had covered the whole case hugged each other. Two reporters ran out to report that a verdict had been reached. Four additional U.S Marshals arrived and stood at the back of the court.
Two court security officers stood guard in the public gallery as Maxwell walked into the room wearing a purple turtle neck and black pants.
She sat next to her lawyer Jeff Pagliuca and her other attorneys, Christian Everdell, Laura Menninger and Bobbi Sternheim, sat at her table.
Three of the four prosecutors who brought the case, Assistant U.S Attorneys Lara Pomerantz, Alison Moe and Andrew Rohrbach, sat at the prosecution bench.
Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, who also prosecuted the case, was not present and has not been in court this week.
The verdict
Judge Alison Nathan came into court and announced: ‘We have a verdict’. The court fell silent as the judge asked for the jury to be brought in.
Judge Nathan said: “I will direct everyone to remain seated and be quiet and calm during the reading of the verdict. Anyone who is disruptive will be removed”.
On the bench behind Maxwell’s siblings was Assistant US Attorney Alex Rossmiller, who helped prosecute the case, and FBI special agent Amanda Young, the lead agent in the 2019 investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Jury
The jury walked into court and sat in the jury box and the additional area reserved for the unvaccinated. None of them showed any visible emotion.
Judge Nathan was handed an envelope by one of the court staff and asked the foreperson if they had reached a verdict. She said in a clear voice that they had. The judge announced she was going to read it out and did so.
Judge Nathan asked if there was any reason why the jury should not be discharged and neither the prosecution or the defense said they had any, so they were released.
Judge Nathan thanked them for their ‘time and for your service’ and they walked out.
The judge asked if both parties wanted a pre-sentence report commissioned and they said yes.
From the beginning of the trial that kicked off on November 29, Maxwell remained relaxed and confident, giving hugs to her lawyers or waving to her sister Isabel in the public gallery.
Maxwell barely reacted when her accusers took the stand to testify of the horrific abuse at the hands of her and Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein’s pilots Larry Visoski and Dave Rodgers told the court that in the 30 years they flew Epstein on his private planes, including the Boeing 727 known as the ‘Lolita Express’, they never saw him engage in sexual activity of any kind.
But both men said that the door to the passenger cabin was closed at all times.