Ghislaine Maxwell’s Brother Says Convicted Sex Offender Won’t Trade Names for Lesser Jail Term

Ghislaine Maxwell, the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, was earlier found guilty of recruiting and trafficking young girls for his sexual trafficking ring of abuse, with a US jury convicting her of five out of six charges. Maxwell has yet to be sentenced and faces a separate trial for perjury.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother, Ian, has claimed that despite being found guilty on five of six sex-trafficking charges in relation to the late tycoon Jeffrey Epstein, she will not attempt any deals with prosecutors in exchange for a lighter sentence, reported The Sunday Times.

“Prosecution confirmed no plea bargain offers were made or received… I expect that position to be maintained,” Ian Maxwell was cited as saying.

According to the disgraced British socialite’s brother, she was “understandably subdued” by her conviction by a US court on 29 December, but remained “strong in spirit”. He added that despite facing 65 years in jail, Ghislaine Maxwell “is not now, nor has ever been, a suicide risk”.

“She knows there are many people, including her family of course, who love and support her and who believe in her innocence,” Ian Maxwell was quoted as saying.

“She will be appealing her conviction. She is a fighter and a survivor,” he added.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal team had also announced earlier their intention to appeal against the verdict.

"We firmly believe in Ghislaine's innocence… Obviously we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started working on the appeal and we are confident that she will be vindicated," one of her lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, had said outside the New York court on 29 December.

For a successful appeal in such a case, claim legal experts, the legal team would have to show some error in the way the case was tried, or some jury misconduct.

After the arrest of Jeffrey Epstein’s former associate and girlfriend in New Hampshire in July 2020, speculation had been rife whether she would cooperate with prosecutors. If Ghislaine Maxwell were to trade names, evidence could possibly be gathered against others who allegedly sexually abused children along with Epstein and his “Madam”.

Furthermore, the tawdry sex trafficking duo had boasted connections with the rich and the powerful, particularly politicians, Hollywood celebrities, and royalty, such as Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Donald Trump.

‘Sophisticated Predator’

Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in a New York courtroom on 29 December of recruiting and grooming underage girls, some as young as 14, for sexual encounters with the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

She was found guilty on five out of six charges, including the most serious one - sex trafficking - which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years. Thus, Maxwell, described by prosecutors as a “sophisticated predator” who committed “one of the worst crimes imaginable” faces up to 65 years in jail. The sentencing date is not yet known. Until then she will remain at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center.

Ghilsiane Maxwell separately faces perjury charges pertaining to a deposition for a separate civil suit in 2016 filed by Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was abused by Epstein while a minor. Giuffre has also since filed a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew, claiming she had been trafficked out by Epstein and Maxwell to have sex with him on three occasions when she was still a minor under US law.

An undated photo shows Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

© REUTERS / HANDOUT

Convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, jailed in Manhattan on charges of sex trafficking involving teenage girls, was awaiting trial when he died in his cell in August 2019. The New York City medical examiner ruled Epstein's death a suicide by hanging.