The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s challenge to her criminal conviction, solidifying her 20-year sentence for recruiting and grooming teenage girls for Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell’s conviction on three counts of sex trafficking remains in place, following the court’s decision not to explain its reasoning for turning down her appeal.
Maxwell, a British socialite, was convicted of sex trafficking a teenage girl, among other charges, in connection with her involvement in the sexual abuse orchestrated by Epstein, a former financier. Her legal team had argued that she should never have been tried or convicted for her role in luring young girls into Epstein’s orbit, claiming that a 2007 non-prosecution agreement between federal prosecutors in Miami and Epstein’s legal team protected her from federal charges.
Despite these arguments, the Supreme Court’s decision leaves Maxwell’s conviction and her sentence unchanged. The ruling comes as the court began its new term and follows months of political pressure from the Trump administration and other parties urging the court to avoid the case.
Maxwell was moved from a low-security federal prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas following her interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July.
During her trial in Manhattan, prosecutors presented accounts of abuse from four women who detailed being sexually exploited by Epstein as teenagers in the 1990s and early 2000s. These testimonies highlighted the harrowing conditions under which Epstein’s victims were trafficked and abused.
Maxwell was convicted after a jury found her guilty of sex trafficking and other charges, marking a significant legal victory for victims of Epstein’s abuse.
The decision by the Supreme Court leaves Maxwell’s future in prison secure, with her appeal for a new trial now definitively denied. While calls for transparency regarding Epstein’s case continue to draw attention, this ruling reinforces the justice system’s position on Maxwell’s involvement in Epstein’s criminal enterprise.