China News Service, December 30. According to a report from the US Chinese website, Ghislaine Maxwell, the ex-girlfriend and long-time associate of American billionaire Epstein, was recently convicted of five counts by a jury.
She was accused of participating in Epstein's sexual abuse of underage girls between 1994 and 2004.
The case is heard in the Federal Court of Manhattan, New York.
After 6 days and 40 hours of deliberations, a jury composed of 6 men and 6 women finally found five counts of conviction, including sex trafficking of minors, transporting minors for the purpose of engaging in criminal activities, and three related Conspiracy.
Maxwell’s accusation of inducing minors to travel and engage in illegal sex was exonerated by the jury.
According to reports, the 60-year-old Maxwell will face up to 65 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors argued that Maxwell and Epstein conspired to develop a plan between 1994 and 2004 in New York, Florida, New Mexico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to induce young girls to have sex with Epstein.
Four female victims testified during the trial that Epstein abused them, and Maxwell facilitated the abuse and sometimes participated in it.
The defense stated that Maxwell was a "scapegoat" for Epstein's actions and attacked the memories and motives of women who claimed to have been sexually abused.
The trial of the case began on November 29.
During the trial, disturbing testimonies of victims of sexual abuse were revealed, as well as testimony about Epstein's relationship with prominent figures such as Trump and Bill Clinton.
None of these prominent figures were charged in the trial.
Epstein reached a plea agreement with the state on prostitution charges in Florida in 2008, and was later indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019, but committed suicide in prison a month later.
A year later, his longtime accomplice Maxwell was arrested and has been detained in prison ever since.