Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters), The U.S. government has agreed to drop two perjury accusations against Ghislaine Maxwell if Jeffrey Epstein is convicted. According to a joint statement from prosecutors Maxwell’s defense and prosecution teams,

Prosecutors wrote Monday night to Alison Nathan stating that dismissing perjury charges would be in the victim’s “significant interest” to bring closure to the matter and avoid the pain of testifying once again.

The Manhattan judge was also requested by the prosecution to sentence Maxwell within three to four month.

Maxwell lawyers say they don’t want to set any timeline. However, one juror’s post -trial confessions that he had been sexually assaulted was “compelling” for Maxwell to overturn his client’s conviction. The letter stated.

Maxwell, 60 years old, was convicted after a lengthy trial for sex traficking. He also faces other charges including grooming and recruiting underage girls to Epstein’s abuse between 1994-2004.

After one juror shared with Reuters his personal experience as a child of being sexually abused, lawyers for the British socialite challenged her conviction.

Maxwell’s attorneys have stated that the disclosures made by the juror to Reuters or other media “influenced the deliberations” and convinced the other jury members to convict Maxwell.

Maxwell can spend as much as 65 years prison sentence for her conviction.

Perjury allegations are based on Maxwell’s alleged lying about Epstein’s conduct during depositions she took in 2016 to support a civil suit.

Every charge can result in a maximum 5-year sentence. Nathan resolved to give them each a separate trial in April.

Nathan allowed Maxwell’s attorneys until January 19 to explain in writing why the conviction should not be upheld. You have two weeks to provide your response.

Epstein was a financier who had been convicted of sex offences. He committed suicide in Manhattan in August 2019, while waiting for his own trial on sex trafficking.