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Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 conviction for helping the late Tier 3 registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls has been upheld by the Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.
Maxwell, 62, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted on five charges for having recruited and groomed four underage girls for Epstein between 1994 and 2004.
During her court trial, Maxwell was described as “dangerous.”
Judge Alison Nathan said at Maxwell’s sentencing that she was “central” to Epstein's heinous crimes, not a “proxy.”
“Ms Maxwell worked with Epstein to select young victims who were vulnerable and played a pivotal role in facilitating sexual abuse,” the judge concluded.
Maxwell's appeal focused on a 2007 non-prosecution agreement between Epstein and federal prosecutors in southern Florida. Maxwell’s attorneys argued that she was immune from prosecution in New York because the agreement barred her from being prosecuted in Manhattan.Her lawyer argued that the government's intent to bar prosecutions nationwide of “potential co-conspirators”including the four parties named in the agreement. But, Maxwell was not among those named.
A prosecutor proffered to the court that Epstein's agreement was intended to bind only prosecutions in southern Florida.
Maxwell’s attorneys also argued that prosecutors targeted her because Epstein died in custody and the public’s outcry for accountability drove her prosecution. Her lawyers also claimed that her trial was tainted because one juror did not disclose that he had been sexually abused as a child.
Epstein died in custody in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell, five weeks after being arrested and charged with sex trafficking.
He had pleaded guilty in 2008 to a Florida state prosecution charge and served 13 months in jail, but was allowed to go to his office during the day for hours.
Maxwell is serving her sentence in a Tallahassee, Florida prison and is eligible for release in July 2037.
Those close to her have periodically mentioned to the press that she is writing a book to refute that which has been attested to in court and written about in the media, but so far, there has been no official mention of a book publication date.
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