Maxwell in 'similar situation' as Cosby, lawyers say
July 3, 2021
Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers on Friday argued that the overturning of Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction backs up dropping sex trafficking charges against her.
In their latest bid to toss out charges that Maxwell recruited teenage girls for Jeffery Epstein to sexually abuse, the lawyers said she was also protected by a nonprosecution agreement.
Cosby, who was convicted in 2018 on charges of sexual assault, was released from prison earlier this week. Pennsylvania's top court said a prosecutor's 2005 agreement not to charge Cosby meant the actor and comedian should not have been charged a decade later.
What did Maxwell's lawyers say?
In a letter to US District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan, Maxwell's lawyers said Epstein's former girlfriend is in a "similar situation" as Cosby.
They argued that she had been immunized under a 2007 non-prosecution agreement that Epstein signed with federal prosecutors in Florida.
"As in Cosby, the government is trying to renege on its agreement and prosecute Ms. Maxwell over 25 years later for the exact same offenses for which she was granted immunity," Maxwell's lawyers said.
"This is not consistent with principles of fundamental fairness," they added.
In April, Nathan ruled that Epstein's deal, which he had struck in exchange for pleading guilty to state prostitution charges, did not bind federal prosecutors in Manhattan.
Nathan also rejected Maxwell's claim that the agreement covered accused co-conspirators like herself.
What are the charges facing Maxwell?
Maxwell has been charged with six counts, including sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor. She has pleaded not guilty.
The British socialite is accused of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse underage girls between 1994 to 1997.
If convicted on all counts, Maxwell could face up to 80 years in prison.
Maxwell, 59, is being held at a federal jail in Brooklyn. She has been denied bail three times since her arrest last year.
fb/sms (AP, Reuters)