Judge upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking conviction

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A trial judge has concluded there was enough evidence to convict Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking. But she also gave Maxwell a legal victory by concluding that three conspiracy counts charged the same crime. U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan issued a written ruling Friday after Maxwell’s lawyers asked her to reject a December jury verdict. Nathan found the jury’s guilty verdicts were readily supported by extensive witness testimony and documentary evidence. The 60-year-old Maxwell was convicted of recruiting teenage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse. The reduction of counts wasn’t expected to have much effect on the sentencing, when Maxwell could face a sentence ranging from several years to decades in prison.