Ghislaine Maxwell has asked a federal judge to throw out her sex trafficking conviction and free her from prison. The new filing is the latest attempt to overturn the case that led to her 20-year sentence.
Maxwell sent the request to federal prosecutors in New York, who said they received a FedEx package dated Apr. 16, 2026, with an amended motion and supporting materials on a USB drive.
She was convicted in 2021 for helping Jeffrey Epstein recruit and abuse underage girls. Prosecutors said at trial that Maxwell played a central role in the abuse by identifying victims, bringing them into Epstein's orbit, and helping create a setting where the exploitation could continue, according to ABC News.
According to the Justice Department, Maxwell and Epstein used promises of money, travel, and opportunities to draw in minors, then pressured them into sexual abuse. Prosecutors also said she helped groom victims, encouraged some to recruit others, and was at times present during the abuse.
Trial evidence also showed that Maxwell and Epstein targeted girls as young as 14, often using a massage pretext to get them alone with Epstein. Prosecutors said Maxwell and Epstein built a system that kept feeding Epstein new victims by rewarding some girls for bringing in others.
The case against Maxwell grew out of years of allegations, civil suits, and witness accounts that put her at the center of Epstein's network. Maxwell had long been described by prosecutors as one of Epstein's closest associates, and she was charged after the FBI arrested her in New Hampshire in July 2020, NPR reported.
The latest submission follows a February ruling that allowed her to amend a habeas petition after the Justice Department released Epstein-related files. Maxwell previously argued that Epstein's 2007 non-prosecution agreement should have protected her, but courts rejected that claim.
Her motion has not yet been made public on the court docket, but prosecutors said it appears to overlap with earlier arguments that district and appellate courts rejected in 2024. The U.S. Supreme Court later declined to hear her appeal.
Maxwell filed a habeas petition in December, arguing that "substantial new evidence" had emerged in her case. In that petition, she pointed to alleged juror misconduct, evidence she said was not disclosed, and the time gap between the conduct and the indictment, as per CBS News.
