Supreme Court rejects Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty in 2022 for her role in luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell was Epstein's girlfriend for at least part of the time when the crimes were committed.

Epstein, a New York financier, committed suicide in a New York City jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

Revelations in the Epstein-Maxwell story continue to make news, considering Epstein was associated with some of the world's most powerful men including Donald Trump in the 1990s, before he became president.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison term. Her appeal before the high court argued she never should have been tried or convicted for her role in the sex trafficking, according to the Associated Press. 

Maxwell's attorneys contended that a non-prosecution agreement reached in 2007 by federal prosecutors in Miami and Epstein’s lawyers also protected his “potential co-conspirators” from federal charges anywhere in the country, the wire service also reports.

The justices did not explain why they turned away the appeal, as is customary.