Arabic version: ماكسويل تخسر مسعاها لإلغاء إدانتها بالاتجار الجنسي

According to ABC News, US federal judge Paul Engelmayer has rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid to throw out her conviction on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell, 64, will remain in prison to serve the rest of her 20-year sentence.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of supplying underage girls to Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier and convicted sex offender. Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting his own trial. Maxwell remains the only person convicted of a crime in connection with him.

In a ruling on Tuesday, local time, Judge Engelmayer said Maxwell’s claims that her constitutional rights had been violated at trial and sentencing “are all meritless and all or almost all are frivolous.” The US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of her sex trafficking conviction last October.

The case has continued to draw public attention following the release of extensive Epstein investigative files under a law passed last year. Britain’s former prince Andrew is among high-profile figures who have been publicly disgraced over associations with Epstein. In February, Maxwell was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to discuss her relationship with Epstein, but she refused to answer questions. Her lawyer said she would speak only if US President Donald Trump granted her clemency.