Ghislaine Maxwell has been convicted of five counts of sex trafficking.
The British socialite was charged with recruiting and grooming teenage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse.
The six-man, six-woman jury reached the verdict Wednesday after deliberating for about 40 hours over six days.
The 60-year-old Maxwell could face up to 65 years in prison on the five counts when she is sentenced in federal court in New York City.
“The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done. I want to commend the bravery of the girls – now grown women – who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today’s result, possible,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
Prosecutors say Epstein, who committed suicide while awaiting trial for the sex abuse itself, could not have committed his crime without Maxwell serving as his “lady of the house.”
SEE ALSO: Family of U.K. socialite Ghislaine Maxwell voices faith in her innocence
More than 100 women and girls have said that Epstein sexually abused them. Prosecutors presented four of the more-willing women with better-documented cases.
She was acquitted on one count, that of enticing a minor to travel across state lines for the purposes of sexual activity.
Defense lawyers had said Maxwell was being used by the federal government as a scapegoat for Epstein’s crimes, justice for which his death had cheated.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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