Pausing coverage for nowpublished at 01:03 Greenwich Mean Time 30 December 2021
Thank you for joining our live coverage of the Ghislaine Maxwell trial verdict in New York City.
- The British socialite and associate of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was found guilty of five out of six federal child sex charges - including sex trafficking of a minor
- The trafficking charge carries a sentence of 40 years
- Coupled with the other grooming charges, it appears likely that Maxwell - who turned 60 on Christmas day - will spend the rest of her life behind bars
- As her sentence was read, Maxwell showed no emotion in court. She poured herself a glass of water and took two sips before a lawyer gave her a brief embrace and she was led out of the court
- Lawyers for Maxwell say they already have plans to appeal the verdict and expect her to be exonerated
- "Justice has been done," said US Attorney Damian Williams after the verdict was read
- She is still facing two separate charges of perjury stemming from a deposition she gave in 2016 about one of Epstein's accusers, Virginia Giuffre
You can follow further updates to this story here.
Today's coverage was provided by Bernd Debusmann, Max Matza, George Wright, Patrick Jackson, Jude Sheerin and Ritu Prasad.