❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Supreme Court declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal in her sex trafficking case, effectively upholding her 2021 conviction.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Ghislaine Maxwell, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The Supreme Court’s decision was announced on Monday. Maxwell is currently serving her sentence in a federal facility in Bryan, Texas.
🎯IMPACT: Maxwell’s conviction remains intact, and her 20-year prison sentence continues without further legal recourse.
The United States Supreme Court will not take up Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal seeking to overturn her 2021 conviction on sex trafficking charges. This decision leaves in place the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which had previously rejected her appeal.
One of the closest associates of Jeffrey Epstein, the 63-year-old Maxwell, was sentenced in 2022 to 240 months in prison for her role in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse multiple minor girls with the now-deceased pedophile financier over the course of a decade.
Attorneys for Maxwell argued her conviction should be overturned, claiming Epstein’s 2007 plea deal with the federal government effectively granted her immunity. Additionally, her legal team argued that the statute of limitations had expired for the crimes for which she was prosecuted. Lower courts rejected both claims.
Maxwell, who was initially serving her sentence in a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, was recently transferred to a minimum-security all-women facility in Bryan, Texas. This move came shortly after a meeting with Department of Justice (DOJ) Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, though the DOJ has denied providing her with any special treatment.
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