<p>New York: A lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell will on Tuesday ask a U.S. appeals court to overturn the British socialite's conviction and 20-year prison sentence for helping the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.</p><p>The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan is expected to hear oral arguments in Maxwell's appeal at 2 pm ET (23:30 IST).</p><p>Maxwell, 62, was convicted in December 2021 on five charges for having recruited and groomed four underage girls for Epstein, once her boyfriend, to abuse between 1994 and 2004.</p><p>The court is not expected to rule immediately.</p><p>Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail, a little over a month after being arrested and also charged with sex trafficking.</p><p>His victims have since recouped hundreds of millions of dollars from his estate and from banks accused of handling transactions that financed his sexual misconduct.</p><p>The scandal has also stained or destroyed the reputations of former friends like Britain's Prince Andrew and onetime Barclays CEO Jes Staley.</p><p>Maxwell is the daughter of the late British media mogul Robert Maxwell.</p>.Unsealed Jeffrey Epstein docs reveal names of Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Jackson, and other A-list celebs.<p>In her appeal, Maxwell's lawyers said prosecutors scapegoated her because Epstein was dead and "public outrage" demanded that prosecutors pin blame somewhere.</p><p>The lawyers also said the government waited too long to bring charges, and that Maxwell was immune under a 2007 non-prosecution agreement between Epstein and federal prosecutors in Florida.</p><p>In addition, Maxwell's lawyers said the trial was tainted because one juror failed to disclose he had been sexually abused as a child.</p><p>Prosecutors believe the appeal is meritless.</p><p>They have cited Circuit Judge Alison Nathan's findings that Maxwell had done "incalculable" damage to her victims, and that a substantial sentence would show people who sexually abuse and traffic underage victims that "nobody is above the law."</p><p>Nathan was elevated to the appeals court after being assigned Maxwell's criminal case when she was a district judge. She has no role in the appeal.</p><p>Maxwell is housed in a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She is eligible for release in July 2037.</p>
<p>New York: A lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell will on Tuesday ask a U.S. appeals court to overturn the British socialite's conviction and 20-year prison sentence for helping the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.</p><p>The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan is expected to hear oral arguments in Maxwell's appeal at 2 pm ET (23:30 IST).</p><p>Maxwell, 62, was convicted in December 2021 on five charges for having recruited and groomed four underage girls for Epstein, once her boyfriend, to abuse between 1994 and 2004.</p><p>The court is not expected to rule immediately.</p><p>Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail, a little over a month after being arrested and also charged with sex trafficking.</p><p>His victims have since recouped hundreds of millions of dollars from his estate and from banks accused of handling transactions that financed his sexual misconduct.</p><p>The scandal has also stained or destroyed the reputations of former friends like Britain's Prince Andrew and onetime Barclays CEO Jes Staley.</p><p>Maxwell is the daughter of the late British media mogul Robert Maxwell.</p>.Unsealed Jeffrey Epstein docs reveal names of Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Jackson, and other A-list celebs.<p>In her appeal, Maxwell's lawyers said prosecutors scapegoated her because Epstein was dead and "public outrage" demanded that prosecutors pin blame somewhere.</p><p>The lawyers also said the government waited too long to bring charges, and that Maxwell was immune under a 2007 non-prosecution agreement between Epstein and federal prosecutors in Florida.</p><p>In addition, Maxwell's lawyers said the trial was tainted because one juror failed to disclose he had been sexually abused as a child.</p><p>Prosecutors believe the appeal is meritless.</p><p>They have cited Circuit Judge Alison Nathan's findings that Maxwell had done "incalculable" damage to her victims, and that a substantial sentence would show people who sexually abuse and traffic underage victims that "nobody is above the law."</p><p>Nathan was elevated to the appeals court after being assigned Maxwell's criminal case when she was a district judge. She has no role in the appeal.</p><p>Maxwell is housed in a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She is eligible for release in July 2037.</p>