Analysis: Ghislaine Maxwell has been accused of helping procure underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein. But public outrage is not evidence, and it's going to be difficult to charge her.
The indictment against Epstein charged him with a sex trafficking conspiracy. That charge allowed prosecutors to include all of Epstein’s abuse of minors in multiple jurisdictions—in New York, Florida and elsewhere—regardless of when the acts took place. To charge Maxwell with the same conspiracy, prosecutors would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she agreed with Epstein to engage in sex trafficking.
Given that Epstein is dead and that criminals rarely put agreements to commit crime in writing, proof of an agreement between the two would likely rely on circumstantial evidence. But Maxwell would also be criminally responsible for Epstein’s conspiracy if she “aided and abetted” the conspiracy. That would require prosecutors to prove that she knew about the criminal conspiracy and helped to make it succeed.
Nonetheless, prosecutors would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Maxwell knew that force, threats of force, fraud or coercion would be used to cause victims to engage in a commercial sex act. The bottom line is that prosecutors would need to prove that Maxwell knew Epstein abused the girls and that he used force, threats of force, fraud, or coercion to do so.
That isn’t as easy as it sounds, particularly if Epstein’s estate pays for Maxwell to have a top-flight legal team. Unlike Epstein, Maxwell does not have a prior conviction, whichagainst Epstein at trial. Prosecutors would not be able to use affidavits to prove their case because defendants have a right to cross-examine their accusers. So victims would need to testify on the witness stand about what they saw Maxwell do.
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