Jury Reaches Verdict In Ghislaine Maxwell Federal Sex Trafficking Related Charges, Jeffrey Epstein's Madame Faces Decades In Prison
Dec. 29 2021, Published 5:17 p.m. ET
A New York jury has reached a verdict in the bombshell federal sex trafficking trial.
On the sixth day of deliberations, the jury concluded that Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, was found guilty on five out of six charges.
The jurors found the socialite guilty of: conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; sex trafficking conspiracy; and sex trafficking of a minor. She was found not guilty of enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.
Maxwell had previously pleaded not guilty to all six federal counts after reportedly spending years recruiting and grooming teenage girls for the late financier to sexually abuse.
The verdict comes after Judge Alison Nathan voiced concern that the Covid-19 Omicron variant could hold up deliberations in the case and in turn extended court hours.
According to CNN, Nathan told the jury on Monday, December 27, "We are very simply at a different place regarding the pandemic than we were only one week ago and we now face a high and escalating risk that jurors and/or trial participants may need to quarantine, thus disrupting trial (and) putting at risk our ability to complete this trial."
- Letter From Ghislaine Maxwell's Pal Begging Judge To Reduce Bond Based On ‘Philanthropic’ Work Resurfaces Hours Before Jury Resumes Deliberations
- Virginia Giuffre Speaks Out About 'Justice' Of Ghislaine Maxwell Guilty Verdict, Insists 'Others Must Be Held Accountable'
- Top 5 Secrets & Scandals From The Ghislaine Maxwell Trial: Photos
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
"Accordingly, extending deliberations by an hour gives the jury more time each day to continue to engage in its thoughtful deliberations," she continued. "In light of the variant, my concern about interruption of trial given the increasing daily risk of exposure to either a juror or a trial participant requiring quarantine, it is time to think to have the jurors make plans to deliberate until a verdict is reached."
Prior to the holiday weekend, members of the jury had deliberated for an hour last Monday, all of Tuesday and all of Wednesday. They also requested the court to provide transcripts of testimony from all four victims Annie Farmer, Jane, Kate and Carolyn.
The jury also asked for transcripts of testimony from the housekeeper at the Palm Beach estate Juan Alessi, Jane's former boyfriend Matt, and former pilot of Epstein's David Rogers.
As OK! previously reported, the trial has been filled with jaw dropping testimonies, shocking evidence, and no holds barred attorneys.
One of Maxwell's lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, harshly went after four of the alleged victims in her opening statements. "She is a consummate actress and as her script and characters change, so has her story that you will hear in this courtroom," she claimed about one of the survivors known as Jane.
One victim who testified also revealed that she had allegedly seen a picture of Maxwell "nude and pregnant" during one of the "100 times" she had gone to visit the billionaire's Palm Beach mansion.