Justice upholds conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell, accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein
The US justice system has reaffirmed its stance regarding the Ghislaine Maxwell case. Federal judge Paul Engelmayer rejected this Tuesday the request to overturn the conviction and the 20-year prison sentence imposed on Jeffrey Epstein’s former assistant, after dismissing the arguments presented by the defense regarding alleged procedural errors.
In a detailed 67-page ruling, Judge Engelmayer emphasized that the evidence that led to Maxwell’s 2021 guilty verdict is overwhelming. Likewise, he recalled that both the sentence and the verdict had already successfully passed previous appeals processes.
Rejected arguments and new evidence
Ghislaine Maxwell, 64, had filed a habeas corpus petition in December 2025, alleging that her constitutional rights were violated during the trial. Among her arguments, the convicted woman attempted to use thousands of documents related to the Epstein case, recently released by the Department of Justice, as a basis for her defense.
The magistrate considered that the alleged new evidence is irrelevant to the specific charges for which she was sentenced, noting that, far from exculpating her, certain elements reinforce previous judicial decisions.
The court determined that most of the points raised by the defense had already been discussed in previous instances, while other arguments should have been presented during the direct appeal, an opportunity that was missed at the time.
Case context
- Sentence: Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence at a minimum-security prison in Bryan, Texas.
- Charges: She was found guilty of federal crimes related to the sex trafficking of minors.
- The Epstein case: Jeffrey Epstein, who was Maxwell’s partner and associate, died in 2019 in his cell at a New York prison, in an event officially classified as suicide while he was awaiting his federal trial.
With this resolution, the judicial system maintains the sentence against Maxwell firm, closing the door on her attempts to overturn the conviction for her participation in the sex trafficking ring led by Epstein.
