Ghislaine Maxill was found guilty for sextrafficking schoolgirls. However, she is also guilty betraying her sex in unacceptable ways.

In public, she gave Jeffrey Epstein a sheen of respectability, in private — to the girls she helped lure into his depravity — she provided an illusion of safety.

This lady was a nice woman, pouring tea and offering biscuits as well as compliments. You can’t go wrong.

During the trial, even her own defence team alluded to the cosy fantasy created by this Mary Poppins of perversion, asking the prosecution to explain why an ‘Oxford-educated, proper Englishwoman would suddenly agree to facilitate sex abuse of minors’.

Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking schoolgirls, but she is also guilty of betraying her own sex in unforgivable ways

Ghislaine Maxill was found guilty in sextrafficking schoolgirls. However, she is also guilty for betraying herself sexually in unforgivable manners.

Why, indeed. The answers are there if you look hard enough.

She did it for love, possibly, but also for her own gratification; for power, status and money, including £22 million Epstein transferred into her accounts over the years.

She betrayed women not only from poor backgrounds but all women.

Sophisticated, educated and European — the attributes that Epstein so prized in her — Maxwell presented herself as a big sister to these teenagers, even as she ushered them towards the queasy horrors of the massage table and the bedroom.

‘Did you have fun? Was it good?’ she would ask cheerfully afterwards, the spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.

They behaved like they were at a nice party, not being exposed to the sexually perverse attentions of an older man, who is often their father.

She did it for love, possibly, but also for her own gratification; for power, status and money, including £22 million Epstein transferred into her accounts over the years. In this, she betrayed not just women, but women from deprived backgrounds, which makes it much worse

She did it for love, possibly, but also for her own gratification; for power, status and money, including £22 million Epstein transferred into her accounts over the years. This was a betrayal of not only women but also women with deprived backgrounds.

For a second, imagine yourself as her. What would you do? Would you push a girl to the sidelines or encourage her to go the other way? This is what I believe I have the answer to.

Are you a puppet or a accomplice? Victim or vulture? We never found out what Maxwell thought of herself because she did not take the stand in her own defence — but what could she possibly say or plead to redeem what she did?

Even so, it was remarkable that her defence in court was not ‘I was manipulated’ or ‘I didn’t know what was going on.’ Instead, it was simply this: ‘They are all lying.’

Her lawyers complained that the prosecution evidence against Maxwell was the stuff of sensationalism, and that their client had been made to look like ‘Cruella de Vil and the Devil Wears Prada, all rolled up into one’.

Cruella and Mary Poppins? Ride out to the Florida evenings and gather the cute puppies. All of this and much more.

The yachts, palm trees and wealth were all there, but it was Rochdale & Rotherham again. This is the coercion of vulnerable people to fulfill the inexplicable.

But. A victim admitted in court she was 18 when Maxwell coaxed her into a schoolgirl outfit ‘to please Jeffrey’.

One Epstein accuser, who attended court but was not part of the trial, was 21 and working in a Manhattan department store when Maxwell ‘groomed’ her — and then for three years, she, Maxwell and Epstein became an occasional throuple.

Maxwell deserves my apologies, but it is hard to know what can be deemed sexual abuse.

One cannot help but doubt. Any female accuser can now testify in America’s febrile sexual politics, under the #MeToo climate.

The world we live in is one where Chris Noth, the Sex And The City actor has been immediately and thoroughly cancelled for being accused of historic sexual assaults.

The desire to redress all of the women’s sins seems like a madness.

On Sky News on Wednesday night, lawyer Lisa Bloom, who has acted for many Epstein accusers, said of Maxwell; ‘May she never have another day of freedom again. I hope she spends the rest of her life behind bars.’

Do you think it is wrong to try and see things from a different perspective? Ghislaine Maxwell is guilty of terrible crimes — but she is not Myra Hindley.

Much has been made of the victims’ troubled family lives. However, even the villains must have backstories these days. Ghislaine Maxwell’s difficult family history was an operatic story of money, madness, and other cruelties.

She can’t expect sympathy for her daddy-shaped emotional landscape. The damage she has done to others is too great.

Her exploitative behavior caused young women to lose their chance of graduating without any blemish. This is an inheritance of loss for all.

It is remarkable that Maxwell’s life was dominated by men — first by her father, then by Epstein — but her trial in New York was dominated by women.

One woman was present in the dock. There were four other witnesses. Women who identified themselves as victims gathered outside to take their seats in court.

While the male judges were female, both of the leading lawyers from each side had a female counterpart. Ghislaine was also able to see the sketches of a female court painter. Her hair had an unusual curl and a nice puffy sleeve.

This case seemed to be all about women. Women abused, women accused, women believed, women disbelieved. If we’re honest with ourselves, the final result was about a man.

Jeffrey Epstein, unfortunately for Maxwell is now beyond justice. It is hard to imagine the pain she must have felt at losing her place in Maxwell’s grotesque circle, and her emotional investment. Who is to blame?

The couple’s photographs show him looking uncomfortable at her side. It almost seems as though he is unable to bear the sight of her. It seems that his uneasy eyes also reflect an inner realization of his inadequacy; it is almost like he realizes that the world will one day see these photos and discover the truth.

Epstein made a mockery of the American justice system for decades; it is part of Ghislaine Maxwell’s burden that she must be punished for that, too.

Her lawyer stated that all that was important in this case were three Ms, memory, manipulation, and money.

Sadly, you could say the same about Maxwell’s life. Ghislaine: Did it make you happy? Did it go well?

What is the age of enlightenment today?

At 14 years old, Epstein/Maxwell was the youngest victim. Many of them were still in their teens. I find it interesting to wonder at what point a child becomes a victim and if they are responsible for their actions.

Greta Thunberg was 15 when she started the school strikes, public speeches and other actions that made her an international climate activist.

The teen was brainwashed to support their causes by her parents, while supporters said she was intelligent and capable of making informed decisions.

Shamima Begum (pictured), who was fifteen years old, traveled 3,300 miles from London to Syria in order to marry an ISIS woman.

Although her advocates claim she was radicalized as a child, her critics say she is an independent, emotional crusader capable of making her own decisions.

It is impossible to be both educated and ignorant at once, regardless of your age.

Potter film stars make Rowling disappear

How will J.K. Rowling react to seeing Harry Potter movie stars reunite in a special 20th anniversary TV special while her invitation seems lost in the mail?

Return To Hogwarts (Sky) will be broadcast on New Year’s Day, and already participant Emma Watson — who played Hermione Granger — has said she felt ‘quite overwhelmed’ by the occasion

Return To Hogwarts (Sky) will be broadcast on New Year’s Day, and already participant Emma Watson — who played Hermione Granger — has said she felt ‘quite overwhelmed’ by the occasion

Return To Hogwarts (Sky) will be broadcast on New Year’s Day, and already participant Emma Watson — who played Hermione Granger — has said she felt ‘quite overwhelmed’ by the occasion.

Rowling is still unsupported by her. Her genius has made Rowling rich and well-known.

Emma criticizes Rowling, just like the other Potter actors. 

Why not just boycott the anniversary if she truly felt this way?

Get rid of all the tainted franchises, return the money, and get out from under J.K. Rowling.

Or perhaps not. It’s coming on…

Hypocrites of Expelliarmus

Attention! The Tartan Army has moved in

Dear England!

Ahem. Sorry to my Scots who invaded England this evening to celebrate Hogmanay. Although some people will act politely, they will also be friendly and mild-mannered. However, some of them may be refueled with alcohol in much the same way that lava can refresh a volcano. Some of them may do things that you will never forget or forgive, and I’m sorry for that.

It is my personal experience.

Should I knock over a teacup or, for example, take the last piece of cheese, I have a friend who always says: ‘Here we go, Wembley 1977 all over again.’

Some older readers might recall when the Wembley goalposts were taken by Scottish soccer fans after Scotland had defeated England 2-1. It was a national scandal!

Gird your penalty boxes, people — and prepare for the worst. It’s my hope. In the meantime, I’d like to wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s heart was broken after her father’s death in 1991. In her grief, she found a source of strength in pragmatism just hours after his passing. According to John Preston’s excellent book Fall — The Mystery Of Robert Maxwell, it was Ghislaine who had the presence of mind to suddenly instruct the on-board yacht staff to ‘shred everything’.