Ghislaine Maxwell appeal: Case back in court as Epstein associate ...

Maxwell was protected under non-prosecution agreement, argues lawyer

Ghislaine Maxwell, the socialite daughter of the late British press baron Robert Maxwell, was jailed after being found guilty of federal sex trafficking charges for her role in procuring and grooming underage girls for billionaire paedophile ex-boyfriend.

As her lawyers gear up to launch an appeal in the case, here is a look at her life:

At the hearing on Tuesday in New York, Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers argued that the disgraced socialite should not have been prosecuted in 2019, as she was protected by provisions from a prior non-prosecution agreement (NPA) made by Florida prosecutors with late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The deal was made by former federal prosecutor Alex Acosta, and resulted in a jail sentence and a sex offender registration for the disgraced financier.

Under the 2008 NPA, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avert a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work-release program. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender.

Epstein was later charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for nearly identical allegations in 2019, but he took his own life while in federal custody as he awaited trial.

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell palled around with presidents, movie stars and royalty, hosting household names aboard private jets and at palatial properties all over the world.

Those decades-long connections formed a key role in Maxwell’s conviction for sex-trafficking at a federal courthouse in Manhattan in December 2021.

As her appeal begins in New York today, here’s a look back at some of the famous names embroiled in the scandal:

Maxwell – daughter of the late media tycoon and fraudster Robert Maxwell who was previously used to a life of opulent luxury – is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee.

Black filth smeared on walls, rodent infestations, and sanitary products being used to plug leaks in dilapidated living quarters are a few of the issues recorded at the prison, according to a Justice Department watchdog report, seen by The Independent.

A cafeteria was found to contain broken stools with sharp edges which could be used as weapons, leaking windows, and scores of dead insects.

Meanwhile, Maxwell is said to have lodged hundreds of complaints, including over a lack of vegan food options and access to black hair dye.

Read more:

Ghislaine Maxwell should have been protected by “immunity provisions” from a previous non-prosecution agreement in Florida, her attorneys have argued.

During an appeal hearing in New York federal court on Tuesday, Diana Fabi Samson referenced the 2008 non prosecution agreement, made by state prosecutors with Jeffrey Epstein in Florida.

In the agreement — also known as an NPA — Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avert a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work-release program.

Epstein was later charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for nearly identical allegations in 2019.

“In the end, Ms. Maxwell was prosecuted for crimes that she as a third party beneficiary to the plea agreement in Florida should not have been prosecuted,” Ms Samson said.

Maxwell was not present in the court room on Tuesday, but was reportedly listening remotely from her jail cell in Florida.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers argued that by not honouring the terms of a 2008 plea agreement made between prosecutors in Florida and Jeffrey Epstein would “strike a dagger in the heart of the trust between the government and its citizens.”

During the appeal hearing on Tuesday in a New York federal court house, attorney Diana Fabi Samson told the court that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was looking into the possibility of “corruption” in the plea agreement.

“This case, count six is a count that is covered by that plea agreement in time in charge, and by the particular person who was interviewed in the Florida investigation,” she said.

“That charge should be precluded by the non prosecution agreement and should be dismissed. Denying the viability of this plea agreement strikes a dagger in the heart of the trust between the government and its citizens regarding plea agreements.”

Ghislaine Maxwell was not present for her appeal hearing, which took place in front of a three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.

The disgraced British socialite is currently being held at the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee, in Florida.

It is believed that Maxwell listened to the proceedings via phone from prison.

Judge Alison Nathan, who presided over the trial in 2021, said Maxwell’s behaviour had been “heinous and predatory”.

The court heard harrowing testimony from victims who described how Maxwell had lured them to late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s homes where they were abused.

Maxwell was found guilty of recruiting and grooming four teenagers for sexual abuse by Epstein, who was her boyfriend at the time, and who killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting his own sex trafficking trial.

On Tuesday, an appeal court on New York heard that Maxwell should have been protected from conviction by provisions of a non-prosecution agreement made between Epstein and prosecutors in Florida in 2008.