A New York jury found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty on five of six counts of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein.
The jury deliberated for five days before returning a guilty verdict on Wednesday evening.
The verdict capped a monthlong trial, featuring sordid tales of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14. Four women testified that Maxwell personally abused them in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein’s homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico.
The prosecution paraded 24 witnesses in front of the jury to testify about Epstein’s jet-setting lifestyle and life inside his many homes around the world.
It seemed that Epstein was on trial instead of Maxwell, who began dating Epstein after she moved to the United States from Britain in the 1990s.
Maxwell, pictured with supermodel Naomi Campbell in 2002, quickly endeared herself to Epstein by luring and grooming high school age girls for the pleasure of Epstein and his wealthy friends, including Prince Andrew of England (pictured below).
In 2020, the 60-year-old socialite was arrested by the federal government and charged with enticing minors and sex trafficking underage girls.
The defense argued that Maxwell was a victim of vindictive federal prosecutors who were deprived of their real target: Epstein. The multi-millionaire financier hanged himself in his NY jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019.
According to the Associated Press, Maxwell faces prison terms ranging from five to 40 years on each count.
The US Virgin Islands Department of Justice announced on July 10, 2020 that Maxwell was also under investigation in the Caribbean territory.
Maxwell is a naturalized US citizen but retains citizenship of the UK and France.
If she is ever released from a U.S. prison she will be deported back to England.
