Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Calls for more prosecutions after guilty verdict
New York, New York - Calls mounted for US federal prosecutors to charge additional Jeffrey Epstein enablers after Wednesday's landmark guilty verdict against Ghislaine Maxwell, his chief recruiter of underage victims.
A jury in Manhattan Federal Court found Maxwell guilty of five of six counts relating to her grooming of girls for Epstein’s sexual abuse between 1994 and 2004. The 60-year-old socialite faces up to 65 years in prison.
"I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law. Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young," said Annie Farmer, who testified in the trial about Maxwell and Epstein’s abuse.
David Boies, a lawyer for Epstein victims who deposed Maxwell in 2016, urged the Justice Department to continue investigating the sprawling sex trafficking scheme that allegedly victimized women from the 1990s to around 2019 when the sex offender was arrested on the tarmac of Teterboro Airport.
"[Epstein and Maxwell] did not act, and could not have acted, alone. The scope and scale and duration of their sex trafficking crimes depended on many wealthy and powerful collaborators and co-conspirators. They too are not above the law. They too must be brought to justice," Boies said.
"The DOJ needs to go after every single scumbag"
During the monthlong trial, the jury heard of the powerful figures who Maxwell and Epstein considered friends. Former Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as Prince Andrew, flew as passengers on the same private planes Epstein and Maxwell used to traffic minors for sexual abuse.
The Duke of York is also being sued by Virginia Giuffre, who says he slept with her three times at one of Epstein's properties when she was a minor.
After Epstein’s stunning suicide in August 2019, then-Attorney General Bill Barr vowed that the financier’s co-conspirators "should not rest easy."
One victim testified during Maxwell’s trial that Epstein’s assistant, Sarah Kellen, booked her for at least 100 abusive massages in the early 2000s. The victim said that Epstein first abused her when she was 14 years old.
Another former Epstein assistant, Lesley Groff, has also faced accusations in civil lawsuits that she arranged abusive encounters with the financier. Both Groff and Kellen have adamantly denied wrongdoing.
French model scout Jean-Luc Brunel is fighting charges in France that he abused Epstein victims.
"Justice must be done. Epstein and Maxwell’s victims deserve nothing less. The DOJ failed again and again and again when Epstein escaped justice. Maxwell must pay for her heinous crimes. This verdict shouldn’t be the end: The DOJ needs to go after every single scumbag who committed crimes with Maxwell and Epstein," said Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams praised the victims who took the stand against Maxwell.
"This Office will always stand with victims, will always follow the facts wherever they lead, and will always fight to ensure that no one, no matter how powerful and well connected, is above the law," he said
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / ZUMA Press & AAP