Ghislaine Maxwell's Family Files Appeal Over Ex-Socialite's Guilty Verdict, Believes 'She Will Be Vindicated'
Ghislaine Maxwell's siblings have reportedly already launched an appeal against her sex trafficking conviction, believing she is innocent and will "ultimately be vindicated."
On Wednesday, the 60-year-old British former socialite was found guilty of five out of six charges in connection to recruiting, grooming and trafficking underage girls for her former lover, confidante and late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, to sexually abuse.
Now, her family is vowing to prove her innocence, according to The Daily Mail.
"We believe firmly in our sister's innocence - we are very disappointed with the verdict," Maxwell's siblings said in a statement obtained by the outlet. "We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated."
Maxwell's siblings are appealing allegedly because they believe one of the women who testified during the trial may have improperly influenced the jurors because she was over the legal age of consent when the crimes took place.
Although Judge Alison Nathan instructed the jury not to convict Maxwell based on this particular woman's testimony, a criminal appeals attorney in Los Angeles named Matthew Barhoma believes the ex-socialite might have strong grounds to launch an appeal if it can be proven that the one witness improperly influenced the jurors.
Barhoma also believes that, due to the fact that the sexual assaults occurred decades ago, it can be argued that some of the evidence and testimony provided to the jurors was "dated or stale."
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While Barhoma and Maxwell's siblings believe they might stand a good chance at appealing Ghislaine's guilty verdict, other legal experts think that's an unrealistic scenario.
Aamer Anwar, a civil rights lawyer based in the United Kingdom, told The Mail that an appeal "is highly unlikely to be successful and will not be allowed to delay sentencing."
Neama Rahmani, a former United States federal prosecutor, also believes that Maxwell's attempt at a successful appeal is unlikely – although he does believe she will at least try to get her guilty verdict reversed.
"She's going to appeal because otherwise, she's going to die in federal prison," said Rahmani.
As RadarOnline.com reported, Maxwell was convicted in a Manhattan federal court of conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, and the sex trafficking of minors.
Unless she is successful in her attempts for an appeal, she could very well spend the rest of her life behind bars.
