Ghislaine Found Guilty – What’s Next?

Last night a jury found Epstein lover Ghislaine Maxwell guilty on 5 of 6 charges, and she now faces up to 65 years in prison.

“A unanimous jury has found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of one of the worst crimes imaginable – facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Damian Williams. “Crimes that she committed with her long-time partner and co-conspirator, Jeffrey Epstein. The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done.”  

-From Fox News

But what's next? It is clear that the Epstein sex trafficking operation included many high-profile participants…and we are left wondering if Maxwell will cooperate with the Government to identify and prosecute other child predators.

Maxwell may also choose to attempt an appeal.

“Maxwell truly has two options: She can fight this case and take it up on appeal, where she will likely face a 65-year sentence, or she can start issuing some names of who else was involved for a substantially lighter sentence,” said Matthew Barhoma, a criminal-appeals lawyer in Los Angeles.

– Insider

But even if Maxwell decides to cooperate, experts assert that she is unlikely to get out of serving a significant prison sentence. Neama Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, told Insider:

Rahmani said given that Epstein was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges when he died (though he pleaded guilty in 2007 to solicitation of prostitution and procurement of minors for prostitution), prosecutors will have to be “really sensitive” about giving Maxwell a break in exchange for her cooperation — even if it proves highly valuable.

“It's really a fine line you gotta walk. You obviously want the information. You want to encourage her to testify. You want to prosecute other people that were actually involved in the sex abuse,” he said. “But you don't want to give Maxwell a free pass, because she was instrumental to the abuse.”

Whatever Maxwell decides to do – and whatever the Government allows her to do – she will continue to sit in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center awaiting the production of a pre-sentence report (often called a PSI), which will be reviewed by Judge Nathan pending sentencing. The report will include interviews with Maxwell's family and friends to provide a complete picture of her background and history.

Sarah Krissoff, a former Federal Prosecutor said:

“Given the involvement of minors, the judge has really great discretion to impose a significant sentence, and based on the evidence that was presented at trial, frankly, I expect the judge to impose a very severe sentence upon her,”

-BBC

For Prince Andrew, Duke of York – the guilty verdict is certainly bad news. He still faces a jury trial in the suit brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, and Maxwell's verdict is certain to not help his prospects at all. Even so, Prince Andrew's camp claims otherwise:

A source close to Andrew, however, have insisted that the crushing verdict, which will likely see Maxwell jailed for decades, “shouldn't affect the prospects of Andrew's case at all.” Indeed, according to the Mirror, while Andrew's lawyers are “locked in emergency talks” following the Maxwell verdict, they appear more bullishly determined than ever, the outlet says, to paint Giuffre herself as a key enabler of the abuse Epstein oversaw.

-Daily Beast

Although Giuffre was not called as a witness in Maxwell's trial, her lawyer David Boies told The Daily Beast: “This is a great result. It is a great day for Virginia and for all of Epstein and Maxwell's survivors. It is also a great day for justice and the justice system. The jury's verdict vindicates the courage and commitment of all the survivors of Epstein and Maxwell, who against great odds for many years, stood up to bring them to justice. This is their verdict, this is their victory.”