Ghislaine Maxwell Convicted of Sex Trafficking Crimes

By Bhavya Surapaneni

Castle Pines, Colorado

Prosecutor Lara Pomerantz questions witness Annie Farmer (Reuters / Jane Rosenberg, via The New York Post)

The criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is charged with grooming underage girls for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 1994-2004, commenced on November 29, 2021. Prosecutors rested their case on the 10th day of the trial, and Maxwell’s defense rested their case after presenting witnesses on Friday, December 17th. A verdict was reached on December 20th, with Maxwell being found guilty on five of the six charges.

Ghislaine Maxwell, born in 1961 in France, is a British socialite most well-known for her relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, Maxwell’s employer and partner prior to his death, committed suicide in 2019 while he was awaiting his own sex-trafficking trial after pleading not guilty. Prior, Epstein had pleaded guilty to a charge of solicitation of prostitution involving a minor in 2018, when he was registered as a sex offender.

Maxwell was initially arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on July 2nd, 2020 at her home in New Hampshire. According to The New York Times, FBI agents ordered her to open her door while she attempted to flee to another room in her home. Maxwell was charged with six counts of sex trafficking and other crimes between 1994-1997 by New York federal prosecutors. Since July 2020, Maxwell has resided in the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York. Before the beginning of the trial, she complained about living conditions in the detention center, claiming that there was raw sewage leaking into her cell and that she was given moldy food, according to Reuters.

In March 2021, new charges were filed against Maxwell in a superseding six-count indictment, alleging multiple instances of sex trafficking of a minor, as well as conspiracy for sex-trafficking between 2001-2004. According to CNN, the indictment mentioned that Maxwell encouraged the minor, a 14-year-old girl at the time, to massage Epstein in a sexual manner and find other girls to do so. In April 2021, Maxwell pleaded not guilty to the charges. Maxwell was denied bail even after three attempts to receive it because Judge Alison Nathan citied Maxwell’s high-profile status as reason for her being considered a “flight risk.”

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2005 (Joe Schildhorn / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images, via The New York Times)

Much of the trial has centered around the extent of Maxwell’s involvement in the alleged sex-trafficking and whether she’s simply being blamed for Epstein’s crimes. According to Bloomberg, Maxwell’s lawyers claim that she is being unfairly punished for the actions of Epstein, arguing that her charges are unjustified and that she is being “scapegoated.” According to USA Today, U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz sought to convince the jury that Maxwell played a central role in Epstein’s scheme rather than just being his “puppet.” The defense responded to Pomerantz with the argument that Maxwell was being blamed for a “man’s bad behavior,” a common experience for women in court.

The prosecution called 24 witnesses, including testimonies from four women detailing Epstein and Maxwell’s sexual abuse. Three of these alleged victims went on the stand under pseudonyms and one alleged victim, Annie Farmer, testified under her true identity on the 10th day of the trial.

‘Jane’ testified on November 30th, describing that she had met Maxwell and Epstein in a chance encounter at the park and Epstein had enticed her with the promise of “making things happen for her.” According to the New York Times, Jane said “I was terrified and felt gross and I felt ashamed,” describing the sexual acts that Maxwell and Epstein both invited her to engage in with them.

‘Kate’ testified on December 6th but she was not a minor at the time of her association with Maxwell so her testimony could not be used to convict Maxwell. Kate said Maxwell served “to take care of Jeffrey's needs” and was the instigator of her meetings with Epstein.

‘Carolyn’ testified on December 7th, saying she had over 100 sexual encounters with Epstein between the ages of 14-16, encouraged by Maxwell herself. Carolyn stated that “She [Maxwell] said I had a great body for Mr. Epstein and his friends.” Maxwell’s defense again claimed that the witness fabricated evidence to scapegoat Maxwell for Epstein’s wrongdoings, as Carolyn’s story on the stand had blamed Maxwell for a sexual act that Carolyn had previously attributed to Epstein. Carolyn asserted that the previous information was false and the act did indeed involve Maxwell rather than Epstein.

Annie Farmer’s testimony on December 10th, the fourth and final one, detailed her experience with a nude massage and groping by Maxwell. Farmer spoke about her encounters with Maxwell and Epstein when she was 16 years old. Farmer claimed that in 1996, she spent a weekend at Epstein’s Zorro Ranch with Epstein and Maxwell, where Maxwell “groped her breasts without warning.” Farmer’s ex-boyfriend and mother also testified in support of her, according to the Washington Post.

After Farmer’s testimony, prosecutors announced that they had rested their case, which was much earlier than initially anticipated. The trial moved on to the defense’s side, with them presenting witnesses and offering evidence to the judge and jury. On December 14th, Maxwell’s defense requested the judge to allow three anonymous defense witnesses in the trial, an uncommon request that prosecutors opposed. Though the prosecution in a trial often presents anonymous witnesses, as they did in this case with ‘Jane’, ‘Kate’, and ‘Carolyn’, there was no precedent for anonymous defense witnesses and Judge Alison J. Nathan denied the defense’s request.

The defense’s case was presented on Thursday and Friday, and they rested their case after presentations on Friday. Though the defense initially said they would call 35 witnesses to the stand, they wound up calling 9 witnesses over the two-day period. Many of their witnesses, including Eva Andersson-Dubin, testified that they had never been involved in any sexual massages or seen any of the sexual abuse that prosecution witnesses had alleged. Notably, witness “Jane” for the prosecution had said in her testimony that a woman named “Eva” had joined in group massages, but Andersson-Dubin denied this allegation. Additionally, the defense had a psychologist from the University of California at Irvine testify about false memories in attempts to undermine testimonies from the four women featured by the prosecution, according to CNN.

When Maxwell was asked by Judge Nathan if she would testify, Maxwell said “Your Honor, the government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, so there is no need for me to testify,” according to ABC News.

On Saturday, December 18th, Judge Nathan finalized jury instructions after a weekend session of the trial where prosecutors and Maxwell’s defense presented arguments for how the jury should weigh the case. On Monday, December 20th, closing arguments were presented by both sides, with Judge Nathan asking to keep arguments “tight” to begin deliberation as soon as possible, according to NPR. After roughly 40 hours of deliberation, the jury came to a verdict on Wednesday, December 29, finding Maxwell guilty on five of the original six charges. Judge Nathan had each juror share their personal vote, thus revealing that it was a unanimous verdict.

Maxwell is now facing up to 65 years in prison for five counts, though a sentencing date has not yet been set. Judge Nathan has also indicated that she hopes to go forward with a perjury trial against Maxwell, asking the prosecution and the defense for a proposed schedule for the new trial. According to The New York Post, the alleged two counts of perjury are from Maxwell’s testimony in a defamation case against her in 2016, when she stated that she wasn’t aware that Epstein was sleeping with other people during their relationship or that there were sex toys in his Palm Beach mansion.

On January 4th, trial juror Scotty David expressed his relief that Maxwell is being held accountable, telling The Independent that “This verdict is for all the victims. For those who testified, for those who came forward and for those who haven’t come forward. I’m glad that Maxwell has been held accountable.”