NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of 5 of the 6 federal sex trafficking charges, a jury in Brooklyn announced Wednesday. Prosecutors alleged she recruited and groomed teenage girls to be sexual abused by Jeffrey Epstein from 1994 to 2004.
Maxwell, 60, a British socialite and former girlfriend and associate of Epstein, had pleaded not guilty to six federal counts: sex trafficking of a minor, enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three related counts of conspiracy.
Maxwell was found not guilty of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. She declined to testify during the trial.
"The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done," US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "I want to commend the bravery of the girls -- now grown women -- who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today's result, possible."
The jury, made up of six men and six women, deliberated for five days before Maxwell was convicted for five of the six counts.
Once sentenced, she faces up to 65 years in prison.
Maxwell still faces two counts of perjury for allegedly lying under oath during 2016 depositions for a lawsuit against Epstein.
The former New York financier was found dead inside his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
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