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Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite and confidante to Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted on Wednesday for her involvement with recruiting minor girls that he sexually assaulted between 1994-2004.
The jury convicted her on five of the six charges – sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three related counts of conspiracy. She was found not guilty of enticing a minor to engage in illegal sex acts. 30 witnesses testified during the trial, including four accusers and housekeeper Juan Patricio who said he regularly saw two of them at Epstein’s mansion.
Maxwell’s defense team questioned the accusers’ memories and said they sought part of the $121 million dollar compensation fund that was paid out to roughly 150 of Epstein’s victims. The prosecution argued that Maxwell “was not an unwilling participant,” and that she actively trafficked the minors to “powerful men” as “lady of the house.”
Maxwell faces up to 65 years in prison but does not yet have a date for sentencing.