A Manhattan jury’s decision to find Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of sex trafficking has left victims of the British socialite and her former boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein, “relieved and grateful.”
Maxwell was found guilty on five of six charges for her involvement in Epstein’s sexual abuse of teenage girls.
Prosecutors said that Maxwell “preyed on vulnerable young girls, manipulated them and served them up to be sexually abused.”
Photo: Reuters
“I am so relieved and grateful that the jury recognized the pattern of predatory behavior that Maxwell engaged in for years and found her guilty,” said Annie Farmer, one of the victims who testified at the trial.
“She has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom. I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law,” she said.
Farmer, one of four accusers in this case and the only one to testify under her full name, told the court that Maxwell gave her a nude massage at Epstein’s New Mexico ranch when she was just 16.
She met Epstein through her sister Maria, who worked for him as a fine arts painter.
“Annie and I are sobbing with joy,” Maria Farmer wrote on Twitter after the verdict was announced.
Virginia Giuffre, another Epstein victim who has accused Maxwell of being involved in her abuse, said that she would “remember this day always.”
“My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that,” she wrote on Twitter.
Giuffre is suing Prince Andrew in a civil lawsuit, claiming he had sex with her on three occasions two decades ago when, at the age of 17, she had been sexually trafficked by Epstein — allegations that the prince vehemently denies.
“The road to justice has been far too long, but today justice has been done. I want to commend the bravery of the girls, now grown women, who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom,” said Damien Williams, the US attorney for the southern district of New York.
Maxwell did not speak or look at the jury as the verdict was read, journalist Julie Brown, who spent years working to expose Epstein’s crimes, wrote on Twitter.
“As the verdict was read, Maxwell struggled to stand, but said nothing,” Brown wrote on Twitter. “Maxwell, 60, appeared shaken; she sipped a cup of water then slumped back in her chair. She did not shed a tear.”
Maxwell faces up to 65 years in prison.
Late on Wednesday, Maxwell’s brother, Kevin Maxwell, said the family stood by her and believed that she would be vindicated during the appeals process.
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