Ghislaine Maxwell appeals sex abuse conviction

Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell have argued that she should be set free under the terms of a previous deal with federal prosecutors.

Maxwell, 62, was found guilty of helping disgraced financier Jeffery Epstein sexually abuse young girls.

She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022.

Her lawyer, Diane Fabi Samson, told a court in New York on Tuesday that the British socialite was covered by a previous deal with prosecutors.

But US government attorneys say that deal, which saw her boyfriend Epstein serve a light sentence for sex crimes, should not allow Maxwell to walk free.

Maxwell's appeal does not relate to the facts laid out at her trial but instead on the legal issues surrounding the agreement struck nearly 20 years ago.

The crimes of Epstein, who mixed with some of the world's most famous people, were first reported in the media in 2005.

In 2008, he made a deal with federal prosecutors that allowed him to plead guilty to state charges in Florida of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution and served 13 months in prison.

As part of his plea agreement, which was later criticised by a Justice Department internal report, prosecutors agreed not to pursue his alleged co-conspirators.

Following numerous lawsuits, Epstein was arrested again in 2019 in a federal case in New York. He was found dead in his jail cell before he could be tried on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.

During Tuesday's hearing, Ms Fabi Samson called the Florida plea deal "weird" and "unusual" but argued that it should have halted any further action against Maxwell.

Prosecutors, however, have called the defence arguments "cursory and undeveloped" and say that the deal has no bearing on Maxwell's case.

During the hearing they argued that the agreement was limited to the Florida district where Epstein pleaded guilty. Maxwell was convicted in New York, where Tuesday's appeal hearing was held.

Throughout the course of Maxwell's 2022 trial, four women testified that they had been abused as minors at Epstein's homes in Florida, New York, New Mexico and the Virgin Islands.

They recounted how Maxwell had talked them into giving Epstein massages which turned sexual, luring them with gifts and promises about how Epstein could use his money and connections to help them.

During her trial, a judge rejected attempts to throw out the case, including an argument by Maxwell's lawyers that a juror had failed to inform the court that he had been abused as a child.

The judge also rejected arguments that Maxwell had not been allowed to prepare adequately for her trial, and that prosecutors had waited too long to bring their case against her.

The appeals court judgement will be handed down at a later date.

Outside the court, Maxwell's lawyers told the reporters that they were "cautiously optimistic" about their prospects of winning the appeal.