Imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyer has appealed to a federal appeals court to overturn her sex trafficking conviction and 20-year prison sentence. The lawyer argued that Jeffrey Epstein's 2007 non-prosecution deal with a U.S. attorney in Florida should have shielded Maxwell from prosecution.
During the oral arguments, Maxwell's attorney faced challenges from a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The focus of the appeal was whether Epstein's Florida deal should have protected Maxwell in New York. Maxwell, currently serving her sentence in a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, is contesting her conviction on multiple grounds.
Maxwell, 62, was convicted in December 2021 after being accused of recruiting and grooming teenage girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004. Despite once having a romantic relationship with Epstein, Maxwell later worked for him at his various residences.
The defense argued that a provision in Epstein's non-prosecution agreement should have shielded Maxwell as a potential coconspirator. However, the judge raised doubts about the applicability of the agreement to Maxwell, noting that she was not specifically named in the deal.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Rohrbach countered the defense's argument, stating that agreements made by one federal prosecutor's office do not necessarily bind other offices. The debate centered on the interpretation of non-prosecution agreements and their scope across different jurisdictions.
The outcome of Maxwell's appeal will have significant implications for her case and could potentially impact future prosecutions involving similar agreements. The court reserved its decision following the oral arguments, leaving the final verdict on Maxwell's conviction pending.
