After five days of deliberations, a jury found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of five counts relating to the sexual abuse of girls.
Spencer Platt/Getty Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Audrey Strauss, speaks to the media at a press conference to announce the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime girlfriend and accused accomplice of deceased accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein on July 02, 2020 in New York City. British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been convicted for her role in luring and grooming girls to be sexually abused by the American financier Jeffrey Epstein. In a court in lower Manhattan, Maxwell – a close friend of Epstein’s – was found guilty of five counts including sex trafficking a minor. She now faces a maximum sentence of 65 years behind bars. The verdict comes more than two years after Epstein took his own life while in jail awaiting trial on charges including conspiracy to traffic underage girls for sex. Maxwell’s trial provided an opportunity for victims of Epstein and Maxwell to give court testimony about the abuse they experienced. The case also highlights the importance of understanding sex offenses perpetrated by women. Maxwell was convicted on charges including trafficking a minor for sexual purposes and conspiracy to transport an individual under the age of 17 across state lines with the intent of engaging in illegal sexual activity. To date, Maxwell is the only person to stand trial for the abuse of these girls. We have studied women who have been convicted of sexual assault, abuse and human trafficking, as well as public attitudes toward sex offenders. Our research, and that of others, shows the similarities and differences between male and female sexual offenders. The majority of sex offenders are believed to be male. Charges lodged against women may include sexual abuse of children but often involve grooming or trafficking girls without engaging in the act of sexually abusing the child. Estimates of the proportion of sexual abuse committed by women range from 1% when based on conviction rates to 40%, according to some surveys of people who are survivors of sexual abuse.
