- Jurors began deliberating six charges against
Ghislaine Maxwell after three weeks of testimony. - Prosecutors say Maxwell trafficked girls to
Jeffrey Epstein for sex and sexually abused them herself.
Jurors began deliberating Ghislaine Maxwell's fate on Monday afternoon, deciding whether she will be convicted or acquitted of six complicated charges in her child-sex-trafficking trial.
Prosecutors have accused Maxwell of trafficking girls with Jeffrey Epstein for sexual abuse and sexually abusing them herself. The allegations in the indictment focus on activity between 1997 and 2004, and concern misconduct against four accusers, who were as young as 14 at the time. Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
US District Judge Alison Nathan, who's overseeing the case, handed the charges to jurors on Monday after closing arguments from prosecutors and defense attorneys.
The closing arguments concluded around three weeks of testimony, with just two days for the defense — far shorter than the six weeks the attorneys originally anticipated. Jurors began deliberations late Monday afternoon and resumed on Tuesday morning.
Though four accusers testified at the trial, it's conduct related to two accusers — "Jane," who testified under a pseudonym, and Carolyn, who took the stand using just her first name — that form the spine for the charges.
Here's a rundown of the charges, including what jurors would need to agree on in order to convict or acquit Maxwell on each count. You can read Nathan's complete instructions for jurors here.
Conspiracy
Maxwell is charged with three counts of conspiracy. Her co-conspirator for the purposes of these charges is Epstein, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for his own set of child-sex-trafficking charges.
The British socialite is charged with conspiring with others to entice an individual to travel in interstate commerce to engage in sexual activity for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense. According to prosecutors, this count involves Jane, Carolyn, and Annie Farmer, who testified under her real full name in the trial, for alleged conduct between 1994 t0 2004. To convict Maxwell on this count, jurors would need to either agree on one of the following "acts" alleged in the indictment, or agree that Maxwell was guilty of something similar:
- That Maxwell participated in multiple group sexual encounters in New York and Florida with Jane and Epstein while Jane was under the age of 17.
- That Jane was enticed to travel from Florida to New York for the purpose of sexual abuse.
- That, in 1996, Maxwell gave Farmer an unsolicited massage in New Mexico when Farmer was topless.
- That Maxwell invited Carolyn, when she was under the age of 17, to travel from Florida to elsewhere with Epstein.
Maxwell is also charged with conspiring with others to transport an individual under the age of seventeen in interstate commerce, with intent that the individual engage in sexual activity for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense. This particular count involves multiple accusers, according to prosecutors. It also relates to the same four alleged "acts" listed under the first count, so if jurors convict Maxwell on any of the acts above, it's highly likely they will find her guilty of this count as well.
Conspiring to engage in sex trafficking of individuals under the age of eighteen is the third conspiracy count Maxwell faces. This count relates to Carolyn only, for Maxwell's alleged conduct between 2001 and 2004. Jurors must agree on the allegations in one of the following four acts to convict Maxwell on this count:
- That Epstein and Maxwell recruited Carolyn to engage in sex acts between 2001 and 2004, when Maxwell knew she was under the age of 18, and that Epstein or Maxwell paid her hundreds of dollars after each encounter.
- That, in the same time period, Maxwell and Epstein encouraged Carolyn to recruit other girls to engage in paid sex acts with Epstein, and that Carolyn did so.
- That Epstein's employees sent Carolyn gifts from Manhattan to her home in Florida.
- That Maxwell, Epstein, or one of Epstein's other employees called Carolyn to schedule her to massage Epstein. (Carolyn said in her testimony that Epstein sexually abused her for years while paying her hundreds of dollars for each session of a "massage," and that Maxwell facilitated some of the sessions.)
Interstate commerce
Two of the charges in the case concern interstate commerce, which in this case involves illegal sexual activity across state lines.
Maxwell is charged with enticing an individual to travel in interstate commerce to engage in sexual activity for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense. According to prosecutors, this count relates to only Jane for alleged conduct between 1994 to 1997.
To convict Maxwell on this count, jurors would need to agree with allegations that Maxwell knowingly induced Jane to travel across state lines so that she'd participate in sexual activity, and that Maxwell knew Jane was less than 17 years old.
Jane testified early in the trial that Maxwell was instrumental in facilitating a sexually abusive relationship she had with Epstein that began when she was 14 years old and lasted years.
Maxwell is further charged with transporting an individual under the age of seventeen in interstate commerce, with the intent that the individual engage in sexual activity for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense. This count also relates to Jane and to alleged conduct from 1994 to 1997, according to prosecutors.
Jurors would need to agree with allegations that Maxwell actively made travel arrangements for Jane that would bring her across state lines, knowing she was under the age of 17, and with the intent that she'd engage in illegal sexual activity.
Sex trafficking
Maxwell is charged with one count of sex trafficking of an individual under the age of eighteen. The indictment's final count relates only to Carolyn and to alleged conduct between 2001 and 2004, when she was under the age of 18.
In order to convict, jurors would need to find that Maxwell knowingly "recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, or obtained" Carolyn to participate in commercial sex acts. It doesn't matter whether Carolyn actually traveled across state lines for the purposes of this charge, only that part of the commercial activity involved multiple states.
Carolyn testified that Epstein mailed her a package of Victoria's Secret underwear from New York to her home in Florida. FedEx records entered into evidence during the trial showed that the underwear was mailed from Epstein's Manhattan office, where Maxwell worked.
Jurors could reach a split verdict
Each of the six charges must be considered separately, so it's possible that jurors will unanimously agree with some of the allegations but not others. Altogether, the charges could result in a prison sentence of up to 80 years for Maxwell, who turns 60 on Christmas day.
Maxwell's attorneys have indicated throughout the trial that they plan to appeal the case if she is found guilty.
Separately, prosecutors have brought two perjury charges against Maxwell, alleging she lied in a deposition taken for a civil lawsuit brought by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre. Prosecutors haven't identified Giuffre as a victim for the purposes of the sex-trafficking trial, and the perjury charges are set to be tried at a later date.