Maxwell had reason to believe she would get away with her crimes – she was a rich, well-connected member of the elite
2021 has been quite the year. To call it a dumpster fire would be an insult to dumpster fires. From the 6 January assault on the US Capitol to the emergence of Omicron, it was the year that never failed to disappoint. And yet, there have been glimmers of hope: the miracle of coronavirus vaccines. The miracle of the conviction of a murderous cop, Derek Chauvin. And now, the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, who was found “guilty of one of the worst crimes imaginable: facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children. Crimes that she committed with her long-time partner and co-conspirator, Jeffrey Epstein,” said Manhattan US attorney Damian Williams.
Chauvin and Maxwell are similar monsters in that they thought they could get away with anything: Chauvin because he was a police officer, a position he had reason to believe would relieve him of any accountability in the killing of an innocent Black man, convictions in such cases being extremely rare. And Maxwell because she was a socialite, a member of the elite, as well as the paramour of a billionaire who was closely connected to other rich and powerful men – notably Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew and the lawyer Alan Dershowitz, whose client list has featured such choir boys as Harvey Weinstein, Trump and Epstein himself.
Nancy Jo Sales is the author of Nothing Personal: My Secret Life in the Dating App Inferno
