‘This isn’t the end’: Virginia Giuffre welcomes Ghislaine Maxwell conviction on sex crimes

Virginia Giuffre says she has faith that those who acted alongside convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell will be held accountable for the abuse she and other girls endured.

Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty on child sex abuse charges. Picture: AFP

Virginia Giuffre says she has faith that those who acted alongside convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell will be held accountable for the abuse she and other girls endured.

Perth-based Ms Giuffre, who is originally from the US and previously lived in Cairns, said the US jury that found Maxwell, 60, guilty of five of six counts of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends had given her justice.

“My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that,” Ms Giuffre said in a statement shortly after the conviction.

“I will remember this day always.

“Having lived with the horrors of Maxwell’s abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed.”

Ms Giuffre has accused Maxwell and Epstein of forcing her, as a 17 year-old, to have sex with Prince Andrew and alluded to her ongoing US lawsuit against the prince in her statement.

“I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served,” Ms Giuffre said.

“Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be.”

Virginia Roberts Giuffre during an interview in New York in 2019. Picture: Getty Images.

Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell.

In the lawsuit, Ms Giuffre has alleged Prince Andrew abused her on multiple occasions in 2001.

Prince Andrew has denied the claims but abandoned his public duties in light of the controversy.

Epstein was found dead, purportedly by suicide, in his jail cell while awaiting his own sex trafficking trial.

Maxwell was convicted by a 12-person jury of five of the six counts she was facing including the most serious charge of sex trafficking a minor.

The 60-year-old daughter of the late British press baron Robert Maxwell could potentially spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Sex trafficking of minors carries a maximum 40-year sentence. The lesser charges have terms of five or 10 years

Maxwell sits as the guilty verdict in her sex abuse trial is read in a courtroom sketch. Picture: Reuters

Maxwell sat passively in the Manhattan courtroom, slowly removing her mask to take sips of water, as Judge Alison Nathan read out the verdicts for each of the counts.

Nathan offered her “sincere thanks” to the jury for their service, adding that they served with “diligence.” The jury deliberated for five full days before coming back with a verdict in the high-profile case.

After the verdict was read, Nathan adjourned the proceedings and Maxwell walked out of the courtroom into detention as she has done every day of the month-long trial.

No date was set for her sentencing.

The charges against Maxwell stemmed from 1994 to 2004.

Two of Epstein’s alleged victims said they were as young as 14 when Maxwell allegedly began grooming them and arranging for them to give massages to Epstein that ended in sexual activity.

Maxwell and Epstein became involved in the early 1990s. Picture: AFP

One, identified only as “Jane,” detailed how Maxwell recruited her at summer camp and made her feel “special.” She said sexual encounters with Epstein became routine, with Maxwell sometimes present.

Another, going by “Carolyn,” said she was usually paid $300 after sexual encounters with Epstein, often by Maxwell herself.

A third alleged victim was Annie Farmer, now 42, who said Maxwell fondled her breasts when she was a teenager at the New Mexico ranch owned by Epstein.

Sophisticated predator

Epstein, 66, killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting his own sex crimes trial. Maxwell was arrested the following year.

Maxwell and Epstein. Picture: AFP

Maxwell had pleaded not guilty to all counts. The prosecution portrayed her as a “sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing.” Prosecutor Alison Moe said Maxwell was “the key” to Epstein’s scheme of enticing young girls to give him massages, during which he would sexually abuse them.

Maxwell “was Epstein’s partner in crime,” said Moe.

Maxwell’s defense team countered that there was a “lack of evidence” to convict and questioned the accusers’ ability to recollect quarter-century-old events.

The team also argued that Maxwell was being used as a “scapegoat” for Epstein’s crimes after he evaded justice.

Maxwell declined to take the stand during the trial but made a brief statement to the judge.

“Your honor, the government has not proven its case beyond reasonable doubt so there is no need for me to testify,” she said.

Kevin, Isabel and Christine Maxwell after the guilty verdict. Picture: Reuters

Maxwell’s siblings Kevin, Isabel and Christine were in the front row in the Manhattan courtroom as the verdicts were read out.