NEW YORK -- British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
The verdict capped a month-long trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein's palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico.
Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. With the maximum prison terms for each charge ranging from five to 40 years in prison, Maxwell faces the likelihood of years behind bars -- an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epstein's teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse.
No sentencing date was set.
The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019.
During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epstein's homes -- a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case.
Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth, psychologist Annie Farmer, chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years.
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They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwell's behavior: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams.
Two charges, including the lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted, applied only to Jane. Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers.
Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: "The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify."
"The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did," one of Maxwell's lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasized to the jury. "But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein."
Maxwell's legal team questioned whether the accusers' memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epstein's estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a University of California Irvine professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Maxwell's family complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where she's been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense.
The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over. Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury.
Lawsuits loom, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months.
In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell, center, sits in the courtroom during a discussion about a note from the jury, during her sex trafficking trial, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)
In this courtroom sketch, Judge Alison Nathan, far left, speaks to the jury, right, about the new deliberations schedule and the courts concern regarding the recent COVID-19 outbreak during the Ghislaine Maxwell sexual abuse trial, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
FILE - Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, during a news conference in New York on July 2, 2020. On Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, Maxwell was convicted of helping American financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FILE - Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of late British publisher Robert Maxwell, reads a statement expressing her family's gratitude to Spanish authorities after recovery of his body, Nov. 7, 1991. On Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, Maxwell was convicted of helping American financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard, File)
This graphic lays out the jury verdict for British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been convicted of helping lure teenage girls to be sexually abused by the late Jeffrey Epstein. (AP Graphic)