Ghislaine Maxwell found guilty of sex crimes

New York, Dec 30: Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty guilty of crimes related to recruiting and grooming young girls to be abused by late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The jury's foreperson read out a guilty verdict on five of the six federal counts she faced, including sex trafficking and other crimes in the federal court in Manhattan.

The New York jury came to the conclusion after deliberating the charges since the trial ended on December 27.

Last week, Maxwell declined the opportunity to testify, saying she believed she had no need to testify as the prosecution had not adequately proved its case.

Judge Alison Nathan had instructed the 12 jurors to retire to deliberate their verdict, issuing lengthy instructions for them to reach unanimous decisions on each count.

What were the arguments?

Defense lawyer Laura Menninger had contended that the women's memories of abuse by Epstein and Maxwell were flawed, and had been manipulated decades later by lawyers seeking payouts.

She also claimed US government investigators were seeking a scapegoat after Epstein killed himself in a federal jail in 2019 as he awaited his own sex trial for sex trafficking.

Meanwhile, Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey had described a defense claim that Maxwell was not aware of the abuse that occurred for more than a decade as a "laughable argument."

In her closing argument, Prosecutor Alison Moe said that Maxwell was Epstein's "partner in crime."

The prosecution hinged on the accusations of four women who say Maxwell and Epstein sexually exploited them as teenagers in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Three of them testified under the pseudonyms Jane, Kate and Carolyn. One, Annie Farmer, gave her evidence publicly.

Jeffrey Epstein died in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. Investigators declared his death a suicide.

Maxwell was arrested in July 2020, nearly a year after Epstein's death. She had withdrawn from public activities and her whereabouts had become a subject of speculation.

Maxwell is the 59-year-old daughter of former media proprietor Robert Maxwell, who died when falling off his yacht in 1991.

Source: DW