A Manhattan federal judge has refused to dismiss charges against Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of grooming underage girls for sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
On Friday, Judge Alison Nathan denied the British socialite’s various motions to toss the original indictment against her. Nathan also ruled that Epstein’s 2008 non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami—which shielded him and his alleged co-conspirators from federal charges—does not apply to Maxwell.
“No evidence suggests anyone promised Epstein that the NPA would bar the prosecution of his co-conspirators in other districts. Absent such a promise, it does not matter who did or did not approve it,” Alison wrote in her order.
