The United States is willing to drop two charges of perjury against disgraced socialite Gislaine Maxwell if a conviction for sex trafficking is allowed to stand, court documents showed Monday.Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty last month of recruiting and grooming young girls to be sexually abused by the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein© Handout Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty last month of recruiting and grooming young girls to be sexually abused by the late American financier Jeffrey EpsteinThe British socialite could spend the rest of her life behind bars after a jury convicted her of recruiting and grooming young girls to be sexually abused by the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein last month. She is due to be sentenced at a date yet to be determined.

But her lawyers last week demanded a new trial after a juror told a news agency he had helped convict Maxwell by telling fellow jury members about his experience of sexual abuse.

In response the US government has offered to drop two perjury charges linked to claims Maxwell made in a 2016 deposition in a separate civil lawsuit should the sex crimes conviction stand, according to court documents dated January 10.

Each perjury charge carries a maximum five-year prison term.

“The Government is prepared to dismiss the severed perjury counts… in light of the victims’ significant interests in bringing closure to this matter and avoiding the trauma of testifying again,” a letter from prosecutors to Judge Alison J. Nathan read.

Maxwell’s defense has insisted she not be made to “expend resources” on other legal matters until a ruling on whether to conduct a retrial is made.

Her trial and subsequent conviction for assisting Epstein — who hanged himself in his New York jail cell in 2019 — exposed a murky world of sex trafficking among the rich and powerful.

A New York judge last week said they would decide “pretty soon” whether to dismiss a sexual assault lawsuit against the UK’s Prince Andrew by Virginia Giuffre — also a longtime accuser of Maxwell and Epstein’s.

Giuffre alleges that Epstein lent her out for sex with his wealthy and powerful associates, including Andrew, an allegation that Queen Elizabeth II’s second son has repeatedly and strenuously denied.

US says could drop Maxwell perjury charges if sex crimes conviction stands (msn.com)

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