After her guilty verdict, Ghislaine Maxwell has two options: cooperate with investigators and start naming names, or appeal the decision. Either way, she'll likely face decades in prison.



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Ghislaine was found guilty of sex-trafficking and faces up to 65 years in prison.

She can either fight the decision or cooperate with investigators.

Experts told Insider that it's unlikely that Maxwell avoids jail time.

Ghislaine was found guilty of five counts of sex-trafficking in her high-profile trial.

A jury found him guilty of three conspiracy charges, a separate sex-trafficking count, and of transporting a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. There is a chance of 65 years for the charges.

The verdict came nearly a year and a half after the arrest of Maxwell, who was accused of arranging and participating in the sexual abuse of girls. She has two paths forward, and neither of them will prevent her from going to prison.

"Maxwell has two options, she can fight this case and take it up on appeal, where she will likely face a 65-year sentence, or she can start issuing names of who else was involved for a substantially lighter sentence," said Matthew Barhoma, a criminal appeals attorney in Los

The family said they would appeal.

In a statement Wednesday night, the family said they would appeal the decision.

We believe in Ghislaine's innocence. We are very disappointed in the verdict. "We are confident that she will be vindicated, and we have begun working on the appeal," said one of the lawyers.

Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, told Insider that he doesn't believe that Maxwell has a legal basis to appeal.

Rahmani said that she was going to appeal because she was going to die in federal prison if she didn't.

Barhoma thought that Maxwell could have strong claims in an appeals process.

One of the four women who testified that they were sexually abused was over the legal age of consent at the time of the incident, prompting the judge to instruct jurors not to convict based on her testimony. She was still allowed to testify as a witness, and Barhoma said it could be argued that she influenced the jury.

Some of the evidence could be argued to be old since some of the accusations concern incidents from decades ago.

Even if the case was retried, prosecutors would still likely get a conviction based on the strength of their case and the other accusers' testimonies. He said that the conviction is unlikely to be thrown out completely.

She won't get a free pass if she cooperates.

Ghislaine Maxwell sits in the courtroom to hear a note from the jury in a courtroom sketch in New York City.

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Everyone wants to know if she's going to cooperate. Rahmani said something. Is she going to name names or not?

It has been said that she is not interested in cooperating in the investigation, but that could change if she is convicted.

"You don't want to be a snitch, you don't want to point the finger, but you're a convicted felon and you're looking at decades in federal prison," Rahmani said. Do you try to save yourself?

If she cooperates, her deal with prosecutors could depend on a number of factors, including whether she is willing to testify against others or if her cooperation results in others being convicted.

Minimum sentences are likely to have to be met. The central figure in the investigation is the woman who died by suicide in 2019: Epstein, who was awaiting sex-trafficking charges.

Rahmani said that prosecutors will have to be very careful about giving a break in exchange for her cooperation, even if it proves highly, because of the sex trafficking charges that were pending against him when he died.

It's a fine line, you have to walk it. You want the information. You want her to testify. He said you want to prosecute people who were involved in sex abuse. You don't want to give her a free pass because she was involved in the abuse.

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The original article is on Insider.