On Tuesday, a federal appeals court affirmed the convictions for sex crimes of Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it found “no errors” in what it called a complex case, rejecting several arguments from Maxwell, including that Epstein’s unusual non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in Florida barred prosecutors from the Southern District of New York from bringing the case against her.
The Florida agreement that followed state and federal inquiries into Epstein’s alleged unlawful sexual activities did not bind the New York Office, according to the two-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit. This is despite the agreement signed in 2007 that stated that the United States would not bring criminal charges against potential Epstein collaborators.
The panel cited precedent which states that plea agreements are only binding on the U.S. attorney’s office of the district in which the plea is entered unless the agreement affirmatively shows that it contemplates a broader limitation. The panel stated that “nothing” in the NPA shows that it was intended to be binding on multiple districts.
The panel recounted the case history and noted that Maxwell had coordinated, facilitated, and contributed to Epstein’s sexual abuse against women and girls underage. The panel explained:
Maxwell began grooming young women in 1994 to engage in sexual activities with Epstein. By building friendships, Maxwell normalized sexual topics and abuse. This pattern of abuse continued until about 2004 as Maxwell gave Epstein access to underage girls at various locations across the United States.
Epstein died in his cell while awaiting trial in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking. The death was deemed to be a suicide.
Maxwell was indicted in 2020, and found guilty in 2021, of conspiring to transport minors to engage in criminal sexual activities, transportation of minors to engage in criminal sexual activities, and sex trafficking of minors. Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years of prison in 2022 and fined $750,000. Federal Bureau of Prisons states that her release is expected in 2037.
Maxwell also rejected the argument that her trial had been tainted by one juror’s failure to accurately answer questions about their history of sexual abuse on a questionnaire used during jury selection. The appeals court stated that Maxwell had not challenged the inclusion of any other jurors with past experiences in sexual abuse, harassment, or assault.
Maxwell’s attorney Arthur Aidala stated that the Maxwell family is “clearly disappointed with the court’s ruling and strongly disagree with the result” and are “cautiously hopeful that Ghislaine’s case will be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States”.
Her case decision was published on the same day Sean “Diddy’ Combs” was charged with sex trafficking in New York. Combs’ appeal (who has pleaded guilty) would be heard by the same federal court that ruled against Maxwell.
