Ghislaine Maxwell guilty in sex trafficking trial 

A jury in a New York federal court has found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty on five of six counts related to her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of minor girls between 1994 and 2004.

The 60-year-old British former socialite was arrested in July 2020, and charged with involvement in ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of teenage girls.

Epstein, a convicted sex offender, named Prince Andrew and former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump as cronies before killing himself in a New York jail in 2019, about one month after his sex-trafficking arrest.

The verdict marks a dramatic conclusion to an unexpectedly fast-moving trial: proceedings were originally expected to take at least six weeks. Prosecutors called 24 witnesses over 10 days, and defense attorneys called nine witnesses over two days.

Prosecutors said that Maxwell “preyed on vulnerable young girls, manipulated them and served them up to be sexually abused” by Epstein.

There were four accusers in this case: Jane, Kate and Carolyn, who did not use their full names, and Annie Farmer.

Jane testified that she was 14 in 1994 when Epstein started to sexually abuse her – and that sometimes Maxwell was present during this abuse. At times, Maxwell participated in the abuse, Jane said.

“There were hands everywhere,” Jane recalled of an encounter with Epstein and Maxwell. The abuse continued when she was 15 and 16.

Kate testified that she met Maxwell in Paris around 1994, at age 17. Maxwell extended a tea invitation to her London townhouse shortly after they met, and introduced Kate to Epstein at a subsequent meeting.

Several weeks later, Maxwell called Kate, and said: “Jeffrey was meant to get a massage but the massage therapist had canceled. Could I do her a favor and come over … because I had strong hands.”

Kate testified that Maxwell led her upstairs, where Epstein was wearing a robe. Maxwell closed the door, leaving them alone; Epstein initiated sexual contact. Kate saw Epstein a few times annually over the next several years.

Carolyn said that she met Maxwell and Epstein around the early 2000s, when she was 14-years-old, at his Palm Beach mansion.