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.
OPTIMISTIC: The DGBAS sharply upgraded its GDP growth estimate from 3.54 percent to 7.71 percent after the Taiwan-US trade agreement signing and given AI optimism The US imported more from Taiwan than China for the first time in decades, as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs reshape trade flows while a global boom in artificial intelligence (AI) fuels demand for tech products. US purchases of goods from China plunged almost 44 percent in December last year from 2024 to US$21.1 billion, US Department of Commerce data showed on Thursday. By contrast, shipments from Taiwan more than doubled during the same period to US$24.7 billion. The soaring Taiwanese shipments to the US reflect the huge expansion in supplies of chips and servers for AI companies, which has completely changed
NON-NEGOTIABLE: The US president’s action ran counter to one of the US’ ‘six assurances’ on not consulting China about arms sales to Taiwan, US lawmakers said US President Donald Trump’s admission that he is discussing arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is “alarming and a blatant violation of US policy and the six assurances,” US Representative Ro Khanna said on Tuesday. Trump on Monday said he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Xi warned him not to do so. “I’m talking to him about it. We had a good conversation, and we’ll make a determination pretty soon,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked about warnings raised by Beijing during a phone call with Xi over
The Central Election Commission has amended election and recall regulations to require elected office candidates to provide proof that they have no Chinese citizenship, a Cabinet report said. The commission on Oct. 29 last year revised the Measures for the Permission of Family-based Residence, Long-term Residence and Settlement of People from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民在台灣地區依親居留長期居留或定居許可辦法), the Executive Yuan said in a report it submitted to the legislature for review. The revision requires Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency to submit notarial documents showing that they have lost their Chinese household record and have renounced — or have never
US and Chinese fighter jets briefly faced off above waters near the Korean Peninsula this week, Yonhap News agency reported, marking a rare confrontation in that area between the two superpowers. About 10 US fighter jets on Wednesday departed an airbase in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, for drills above international waters off South Korea’s western coast, the news outlet cited unidentified military sources as saying. While the US planes did not enter China’s air defense identification zone, Beijing scrambled planes as they neared that region, the report said. “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army organized naval and air forces to monitor and effectively respond
RSS