Supreme Court rejects Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal of her criminal conviction

The court rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s challenge to her criminal conviction for recruiting and grooming teenage girls for sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s challenge to her criminal conviction for recruiting and grooming teenage girls for sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein.

The decision means that Maxwell’s conviction on three counts and her 20-year criminal sentence remain in place. The case was one in a list of dozens of appeals that piled up in recent months that the justices rejected as they started a new nine-month court term.

Maxwell lawyer David Oscar Markus argued in court papers that an agreement Epstein made with the then-U.S. attorney in the southern district of Florida, Alex Acosta, not to prosecute him or potential co-conspirators should apply to one of the three counts in her case, which was prosecuted in New York.

"We’re, of course, deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell’s case," Markus said in a statement. "But this fight isn’t over. Serious legal and factual issues remain, and we will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done," he added.

Markus did not outline what those options would be now that her criminal appeal is over, but it could involve seeking a presidential pardon, something Trump has remarked upon in the past.