Ghislaine Maxwell has formally appealed her conviction and sentence in the United States for sex trafficking.
A 60-year-old man has been found guilty of luring young women to massage parlors for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to solicit them between 1994 and 2004.
She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in federal court for the Southern District of New York last month.
Court documents show that despite apologizing to her victims during her sentencing Maxwell has now paid $505 (£420) to appeal both her conviction and sentence.
During the three-week trial, she was described as “dangerous” and jurors were told details of how she helped lure vulnerable teenagers to Epstein’s various properties for sexual assault.
Maxwell’s lawyers said they would appeal the verdict after it emerged that one of the jurors failed to disclose in court that he had been sexually assaulted.
Her lawyer previously said juror Scotty David’s actions “demonstrated a lack of credibility and a desire for publicity” when the socialite applied for a retrial.
Judge Alison Nathan dismissed it.
And in statements before the sentencing hearing, Maxwell’s attorneys said she faces no more than four to five years in prison.
But the judge said she had “repeatedly and over many years engaged in a horrific scheme to traffic young girls, some as young as 14”.
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Judge Nathan added: “The defendant’s conduct… was despicable and predatory.
“Ms. Maxwell worked with Epstein to select young victims who were vulnerable and played a key role in facilitating the sexual assault.”
Maxwell has been in prison since July 2020, despite numerous attempts to get her out on bail.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal prison in Manhattan in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
The death was considered a suicide.
https://news.sky.com/story/ghislaine-maxwell-appeals-sex-trafficking-conviction-and-20-year-jail-sentence-12647905
