Irish Examiner View: No one is above the law

Ghislaine Maxwell preyed on vulnerable young girls and served them up to be sexually abused

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been convicted of helping American financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. 

The family of Ghislaine Maxwell, the former British socialite convicted in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday of sex-trafficking young girls for abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, has already started appeal proceedings.

That is their right, but the focus in this case – and other similar cases – must remain on the survivors who describe the reality of living with the horrific after-effects of what has been described as “one of the worst crimes imaginable: facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children”.

Prosecutors in the trial described how Maxwell “preyed on vulnerable young girls, manipulated them and served them up to be sexually abused”.

Following the verdict, Annie Farmer, one of the women who testified, said she was relieved and grateful that the jury recognised Maxwell’s pattern of predatory behaviour. Virginia Roberts, who has accused the British royal, Prince Andrew, of sexual assault, said others must also be held accountable.

The implications of the verdict for Andrew will be parsed by the media, but the important message coming, loud and clear, from this verdict is that women will be believed and no-one is above the law.