Jury reaches verdict on whether Jeffrey Epstein's pal Ghislaine Maxwell is a sex trafficker

Ghislaine Maxwell, the mistress of Jeffrey Epstein, is now a convicted sex trafficker.

A federal jury in New York handed down its verdict on Dec. 29 after weeks of testimony in the trial, according to media reports. Prosecutors claimed Maxwell was a participant in sex trafficking and sexual abuse of minors. Her defense claimed she was being tried for Epstein’s crimes.

Maxwell will now await sentencing and faces decades in prison.

Epstein is a disgraced businessman who had ties to some of the most powerful people in the world, including royalty, politicians and tech moguls.

Epstein was convicted in Florida for child-sex crimes. He served slightly more than a year in prison and was released. But he was allowed to travel to Manhattan and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It there, victims said more sexual assaults occurred.

Federal prosecutors also gave Epstein a sweetheart plea deal that shielded him from further charges. But, when media reports surfaced about the deal, it pushed Epstein back into the limelight, and he was charged in connection to human trafficking in 2019.

Epstein was being held at the federal detention center in Brooklyn, New York, when he committed suicide ahead of his trial. His death has sparked numerous conspiracy theories as some believe the acquaintances killed Epstein to stop him from talking about others who might have engaged in similar behaviors.

His mistress, Maxwell, was also charged in connection to the trafficking.

During her trial, several victims took the witness stand, according to Knewz. One woman testified on Dec. 7 about how Maxwell grabbed her.

“She felt my boobs and my hips and my buttocks,” the woman, who was 14 at the time, told the jury. “She said I had a great body for Mr. Epstein.”

The victim said Maxwell got her to recruit friends and then got paid $600 for the referrals, according to Knewz.