![]() ![]() ![]() Attorney Alison Moe noted in her closing argument, Maxwell “ran the same playbook over and over and over again as she exploited young girls,” preying on teens who often came from difficult family situations by reassuring them with her presence, acting the part of the “posh, smiling, respectable, age-appropriate woman.” (Judging from the stories the victims told on the stand, it seems that Maxwell was able to tone down her arrogant stonewalling when she wanted to.) She offered the girls money and gifts, such as Victoria’s Secret underwear, in return for them giving Epstein “massages,” which were merely a smoke screen for sexual abuse. The government’s case, however, was damning. (Her lead attorney has said that her team is already working on an appeal of the verdict.) When given a chance to explain her side of things, in court, Maxwell declined to take the stand, stating that “the government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and so there is no need for me to testify.” This was a woman who has long acted, and has continued to act, as if she had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. The moment, which became something of an Internet meme in the days that followed, also reminded me of Maxwell’s brazen gaze when she was photographed at-or arguably Photoshopped into a picture of-a Los Angeles-area In-N-Out Burger, soon after Epstein’s death. Maxwell’s brand of chilly hauteur was on full display, early on, when the socialite, who was being drawn by a courtroom sketch artist, began to sketch the artist back-an act which, in its attempt to reverse the roles, smacked of a certain derision for the gravity of the proceedings around her. One can only assume that this stance did not win her very many points with the jury. (“She has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom,” one victim said.) And yet, aside from occasionally consulting with her legal team and taking notes, Maxwell remained sphinxlike throughout the trial, expressing no frailty and certainly no regret. In the course of Maxwell’s trial, which was widely seen as a last chance at justice for Epstein’s victims, four women-who were all under the age of eighteen when they first met the pair-testified to Epstein’s sex crimes, which were facilitated by Maxwell, and their words were often harrowing. The trial opened this past November, in Manhattan federal court, more than two years after Epstein, the disgraced financier, was found hanging in his jail cell, where he was awaiting his own trial for allegedly coercing dozens of young women and teen-age girls into sexual acts. Ghislaine Maxwell, the defendant’s sangfroid didn’t come as much of a surprise. At no point did she betray any emotion.įor those of us who have been following United States v. According to the Times, she took a sip of water and touched her face briefly, before being ushered out of the courtroom. Nathan, of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, has yet to set a date for her sentencing.) When the jury announced its verdict, Maxwell, who was wearing a black mask and dark clothing, sat very still. Maxwell, a former socialite and a daughter of the British media mogul Robert Maxwell, who maintained her innocence throughout the trial, was convicted of five of the six charges of which she was accused, and faces up to sixty-five years behind bars. On Wednesday afternoon, Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of conspiring with her late partner, Jeffrey Epstein, to recruit, groom, and sexually abuse underage girls, during a period spanning from 1994 to 2004. ![]()
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