Offer made to drop perjury charges in Ghislaine Maxwell case

Offer made to drop perjury charges in Ghislaine Maxwell case

In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell enters the courtroom escorted by U.S. Marshalls at the start of her trial, Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, in New York. As Ghislaine Maxwell strode into the courtroom for the first day of her sex-trafficking trial, no photographer was allowed to catch it. Courtroom artist Elizabeth Williams, however, was at the ready and before the hour was up, the boldly rendered scene was transmitted to news outlets around the world. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say the U.S. government will agree to drop pending perjury charges against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell if her sex trafficking case goes to sentencing later this year. The offer was made in a letter to a judge late Monday that was filed jointly by the prosecutors and Maxwell’s attorneys in federal court in Manhattan. The defense countered by asking that questions about the perjury charges be put off until the judge rules on its request for a new trial. The 60-year-old Maxwell was convicted last month of recruiting teenage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse. 

Photo: In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell enters the courtroom escorted by U.S. Marshalls at the start of her trial, Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)