(MENAFN) The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to review convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell’s attempt to overturn her conviction for grooming and trafficking underage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.

By refusing to issue a writ of certiorari, the nation’s highest court left intact Maxwell’s conviction and her 20-year sentence. The court issued a brief one-line order without noting any dissenting justices.

Maxwell was found guilty in 2021 on multiple counts connected to the recruitment and exploitation of girls, some as young as 14, for Epstein’s abuse. Her defense argued that a non-prosecution agreement Epstein reached with federal prosecutors in Florida should have shielded her from at least one of the charges in New York.

According to court filings, Justice Department lawyers countered that the agreement applied only to Epstein’s case in Florida and did not bind prosecutors in New York. US Solicitor General John Sauer wrote that such an arrangement could only extend beyond Florida with authorization from senior officials — authorization for which no evidence existed.


Maxwell is currently serving her sentence at a minimum-security prison in Texas. Reports indicate she was moved there about a week after holding two days of interviews with senior Justice Department official Todd Blanche. Authorities have not disclosed the reason for her transfer, though such a move would typically require special approval for a convicted sex offender.

Jeffrey Epstein had long been connected to powerful and influential figures, including politicians and business leaders. He first faced criminal charges in 2008, pleading guilty to felony solicitation and procuring a minor for prostitution. In 2019, he was arrested again on federal sex trafficking charges and was later found dead in his cell roughly a month after his arrest.

Officials have maintained that Epstein died by suicide, though widespread public doubt continues to surround the circumstances of his death.

In recent years, members of former President Donald Trump’s political movement have pushed for the release of Epstein-related government records, alleging that the materials could expose prominent individuals. The Justice Department’s conclusion in July that Epstein was not murdered and that no “client list” existed reportedly deepened internal divisions among Trump’s MAGA base.

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