Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of five of six sex trafficking counts in connection to Jeffrey Epstein case.

 

Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein. BBC/US Attorney's office.

Ghislaine Maxwell has been convicted of five of six sex trafficking counts in connection to the Jeffrey Epstein case. BBC. Maxwell was accused of trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein and could spend the rest of her life in prison. Maxwell was convicted of the following crimes: 

-sex trafficking of a minor, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison

-transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years

-conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, which carries a maximum sentence of five years

-conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, which carries a maximum sentence of five years

-conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, which also carries a maximum sentence of five years

Maxwell was acquitted on one charge, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. The Maxwell case captivated America after the death of Jeffrey Epstein in prison. Many politicians and even royalty were also connected to the case including Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew. Four victims testified that Maxwell had trafficked them for sex abuse and even participated in the abuse herself, while her defense argued she was a scapegoat for Epstein. 

My Comment:

I have mixed feelings about this case. On the one hand, Maxwell was clearly guilty and she will likely spend the rest of her life in prison. She committed some pretty terrible crimes and she should go to prison for that. That's a good thing. 

But this isn't the outcome that anyone wanted except for the elite. This entire trial was largely uncovered by the news, likely due to the baffling decision to not allow cameras in the courtroom. Nobody really got to see the testimony and without video of it many of the crimes and criminals were not exposed. 

The other problem is that we learned almost nothing about the Epstein network. We know that a lot of very powerful people were implicated in his sex ring but we heard very little about it that we didn't already know at the trial. People like Bill Clinton, Alan Dershowitz and Prince Andrew were not exposed any more than they already were. 

And there are still major questions about Epstein and Maxwell. Epstein was largely speculated to be an intelligence agent, running a blackmail scheme. The details of that scheme and who he was working for were not exposed. We also don't know why he died and if he killed himself or was murdered. A lot of people wanted him dead...

What is even more concerning is that the Federal Government is now in control of Epstein's blackmail material (even if it wasn't collected for that reason). The Justice Department now has a lot of leverage over some very powerful people. As someone that thinks the Federal Police are completely out of control in the first place that's not a good thing. 

As for Maxwell herself, I never bought her argument that she was a scapegoat. Enough people testified that she was basically Epstein's pimp and even participated in sex crimes. She was a criminal who was knee deep in Epstein's sex ring. 

I think the entire Epstein case was an eye opener for a lot of people. Before his 2nd arrest and death, people thought elite pedophile rings were just a conspiracy theory, but his case pretty much proved it to be at least partially true. And nobody seems to believe that he killed himself. It was one of those cases where a lot of masks were dropped and people got to see how the sausage was made for once.

What happens next? I know Maxwell is going to appeal but I can't see how she wins. I also don't expect her to turn government's witness to actually prosecute any of the rich and powerful that were implicated in this affair. My guess is by this time tomorrow the Maxwell case will be memory holed by the United States media without a second thought...