NEW YORK, NY. (THECOUNT) — Ghislaine Maxwell has failed in another attempt to overturn her conviction and 20-year federal prison sentence after a New York judge rejected her claims as “meritless” and “frivolous.”
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled Tuesday against Maxwell’s effort to vacate her conviction, which stemmed from her participation with Jeffrey Epstein in the sexual abuse of young girls over the course of a decade.
Maxwell was convicted on five felony counts. Her conviction was later upheld by a federal appeals court, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up her petition.
In her latest challenge, Maxwell argued that documents released as part of the federal government’s publication of the Jeffrey Epstein files supported claims that constitutional violations had occurred in her case.
Engelmayer rejected that argument, writing that Maxwell’s claims were “all meritless and all or almost all are frivolous.”
The judge also addressed Maxwell’s reliance on material released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, finding that the documents did not establish the errors she alleged.
“The purported ‘new’ evidence to which Maxwell points, principally materials released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, is largely irrelevant to the charges against Maxwell and does not support her claims of error,” Engelmayer wrote.
Rather than supporting Maxwell’s effort to overturn her conviction, the judge said the released material, to the extent it was relevant, had the opposite effect.
“Far from exculpating her, it incriminates her or reinforces the correctness of the legal rulings Maxwell challenges,” Engelmayer wrote.
Maxwell’s conviction followed a federal prosecution centered on her role in Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls. Prosecutors alleged that Maxwell helped Epstein recruit and groom young victims for sexual exploitation.
Her 20-year sentence remains in effect following Tuesday’s ruling. The latest challenge came after Maxwell had already unsuccessfully pursued her conviction through the federal appeals process and the nation’s highest court.
Maxwell’s attorneys declined to comment on Tuesday’s ruling.
New York City is located in southeastern New York along the Atlantic coast and is the state’s largest city. The federal case was prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.
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