Ghislaine Maxwell is already working overtime to get out of her 20-year prison stint.
On Thursday, the 60-year-old filed documents to appeal her sex trafficking conviction in the U.S. The appeal was filed nine days after her sentencing in Manhattan. Maxwell was convicted of recruiting teenage girls for her former lover Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 2004. During the three-week trial, prosecutors described her as a “dangerous” predator who strategically lured the vulnerable girls to various luxury properties.
In addition to sex trafficking, Maxwell was found guilty of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three counts of conspiracy. During the trial, four victims testified about the disturbing abuse they endured. Maxwell apologized to the women in court.
Attorneys representing Maxwell had plans of appealing as soon as the sentence was handed down after they discovered that one of the jurors failed to disclose that he’d been sexually abused. They have also pointed out a lack of evidence against Maxwell and prosecutors waiting too long to indict her.
Epstein never faced the full extent of the law for his many sexual assaults, as he was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial. His death was ruled a suicide.
The appeals procedure could take months or even years.
