A large crowd of people - including throngs of journalists and cameramen - were waiting anxiously outside the US federal courthouse on Manhattan's Foley Square on Wednesday afternoon as the jury returned the verdict against Ghislaine Maxwell.

BBC producer Pratiksha Ghildial captured these scenes from outside the court:

The disgraced financier and convicted child sex offender was at the centre of the allegations against Maxwell, his former girlfriend and long-time associate.

Born and raised in New York, the university drop-out taught at a private school in the city in the 1970s before becoming an investment banker on Wall Street and rising rapidly up the chain.

By 1982, he had created his own firm - J Epstein and Co. The company was an instant success.

He also began rubbing elbows with some of the world’s most recognisable people, like Prince Andrew, Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton.

In 2005, the parents of a 14-year-old girl told police in Florida that Epstein had molested their daughter at his Palm Beach home. A police search of the property found photos of girls throughout the house.

Prosecutors eventually forged a deal with Epstein in 2008 and he avoided federal charges, instead receiving an 18-month prison sentence.

In July 2019, Epstein was arrested in New York, accused of having run a "vast network" of underage girls for sex.

He died in his cell on 10 August 2019 while awaiting trial, and his death was ruled a suicide.

Image source, US Attorney's Office

Image source, Reuters

There was a sense of anticipation in the air as the packed courtroom awaited a verdict, reports BBC producer Kizzy Cox from the courthouse.

Not a sound was heard as the judge read the guilty verdict - including from Maxwell who was dressed in a dark sweater and black face mask.

She showed no visible sign of emotion, only pouring herself a glass of water, which she sipped from twice.

One of her lawyers put his arm around her briefly before she was led out of the court.

At earlier stages in the trial, she has appeared upbeat, chatting with journalists in the court.

Let's take another look at the charges Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty of at her trial in New York.The jury found the 60-year-old guilty on five out of the six charges she faced.

They are:

Count One: conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison

This count charges Maxwell with knowingly and wilfully participating in plans to encourage or coax underage girls to travel across state lines for criminal sexual activity. It applies to multiple alleged victims between 1994 and 2004.

Count Three: conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison;

Like count one, this also charges Maxwell with knowingly and wilfully participating in plans to encourage or coax underage girls to travel.

Count Four: transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison;

This count charges Maxwell with knowingly helping Jane travel across state lines, between 1994 and 1997, intending for her to have sex with Epstein. A former pilot of Epstein testified that a woman named “Jane” was aboard Epstein’s private plane on flights to and from Michigan, and this is backed up by flight logs released by prosecutors.

Count Five: conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, which carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison;

This count charges Maxwell with knowingly and wilfully participating in plans to recruit underage girls to have illegal sex by force, fraud or coercion. It applies to multiple alleged victims between 1994 and 2004.

Count Six: sex trafficking of a minor, which carries a statutory maximum of 40 years in prison.

This count charges Maxwell with recruiting an underage girl - “Carolyn” - to have sex with Epstein and others by force, fraud or coercion, between the years 2001 to 2004. Carolyn described to the court “hundreds” of paid sexual encounters at Epstein’s Florida home from age 14 to 18; much of her testimony was also corroborated by her ex-boyfriend.

Four women took the stand at Maxwell’s trial. All said they had been sexually abused by Epstein before they turned 18, and that Maxwell had urged, facilitated and even participated in the sexual encounters.

Only one woman, Annie Farmer, used her real name in her testimony, while the others used pseudonyms to protect their identity.

The first accuser, Jane, said she had been molested by Epstein from the age of 14. She said Maxwell had “instructed” her on how to massage Epstein and had been “very casual” about the abuse “like it was not a big deal”.

A British woman, Kate, said Maxwell had asked her if she knew any “cute, young, pretty girls - like you” who could have sex with Epstein. She alleged that the socialite had often called her a “good girl” and had asked if she was having “fun” when she was with the paedophile, and had even laid out a schoolgirl dress for her to wear.

Carolyn, a third woman, said she had been to Epstein’s Florida home “hundreds of times” between the ages of 14 to 18, with Maxwell calling to set up the massage appointments and then paying her after. An ex-boyfriend of hers corroborated the testimony, saying he had driven her to and from the home, and had seen the money.

Annie Farmer - who called Maxwell a “sexual predator” and “psychopath” in previous court hearings - pointed at the defendant and accused her of groping her in a topless massage at age 16. Ms Farmer also said Maxwell had neither said nor done anything as Epstein had felt her up at a movie theatre.

Image source, Getty Images

New photos were presented as evidence during Maxwell's trial documenting her close relationship with Epstein. The photos offer a glimpse into their lavish lifestyle.

No longer able to run away from the truthpublished at 22:27 Greenwich Mean Time 29 December 2021

22:27 GMT 29 December 2021

Nada Tawfik
BBC News in New York

The first time I saw Ghislaine Maxwell, I followed her from the door of her luxurious brownstone down the streets of Manhattan, asking her about the horrific allegations against her.

A decade later, I saw her for the final time, in court and no longer able to run away from the truth about her life with Jeffrey Epstein.

This sex trafficking ring was not for profit but for the sick pleasure of the two powerful individuals.

The pair ran in influential social circles and often name-dropped friends in high places such as Bill Clinton, Donald Trump or Prince Andrew. That enchanted their victims, lured by gifts and promises to help their careers and schooling.

Prosecutors said the process of "grooming" teenage girls for abuse was a key part of Maxwell's "playbook".

Their jaw-dropping wealth and connections were also key in another way - they intimidated and silenced their victims and shielded the duo from scrutiny.

US Attorney Damian Williams has released a statement welcoming the verdict and commending the "bravery" of the victims who came forward.

"A unanimous jury has found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of one of the worst crimes imaginable - facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children," the statement said.

"Crimes that she committed with her long-time partner and co-conspirator, Jeffrey Epstein.

"The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done. I want to commend the bravery of the girls - now grown women - who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom.

"Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today's result, possible."

Maxwell has been found guilty on five of six counts - including the most serious charge, that of sex trafficking of a minor.

This carries a possible 40-year sentence, which means the 60-year-old could spend the rest of her life behind bars.

This charge relates to the testimony of Carolyn, who testified about being paid for sex during visits to Epstein's Florida home between 2001 and 2004.

At the time of her first visit, she was just 14.

Image source, Getty Images

Born outside Paris on Christmas Day, 1961, Maxwell grew up in a country mansion, went to Oxford University and speaks several languages.

The 60-year-old is the daughter of disgraced newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell - his ninth and youngest child.

She is said to have had a very close relationship with her late father, and he named his luxury yacht - the Lady Ghislaine - after her.

Soon after her father's death in 1991, Maxwell left the UK to settle in America, where she worked in real estate, and not long after met Jeffrey Epstein.

She sold her Manhattan townhouse in 2016, and kept a low profile until she was arrested last July at her secluded mansion in the state of New Hampshire.

Maxwell has been found guilty on five out of six charges.

As we await the return of the jury, here's a look at the charges they've been considering. Ghislaine Maxwell is accused of:

• One count of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts
• One count of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
• One count of sex trafficking of a minor
• Three counts of conspiracy, related to the above three charges

If convicted, she may face up to 70 years in prison, effectively the rest of her life.

She is also being tried separately on two counts of perjury, for allegedly lying under oath during a pair of depositions in 2016.

From a reporter at court:

The jury deciding Ghislaine Maxwell's fate has paused its deliberations for the evening.

The panel will return on Tuesday morning to continue deciding a verdict.

With that, we are pausing our coverage until the jurors are back, when we'll bring you all the latest on the trial and analysis from our legal experts.

Thanks for tuning in and follow all the latest on the case here:

Ghislaine Maxwell trial jurors begin deliberations

The 59 year old is accused of having helped convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.

US prosecutors allege she “played a critical role in the grooming and abuse” of minors.

Four charges relate to the years 1994-97 when she was, according to an indictment, among Epstein's closest associates and also in an "intimate relationship" with him.

Two other charges - of sex-trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor - came in an amended indictment and relate to the period between 2001 and 2004.

Sarah Ransome, one of Epstein's alleged victims, has told the BBC’s Panorama programme that Maxwell worked closely with him.

She said: "Ghislaine controlled the girls. She was like the madam. She was like the nuts and bolts of the sex-trafficking operation."

Maxwell denies all of this.

Barbara Plett Usher
BBC News, New York City

The closing arguments centered on the two core issues that will be crucial in determining the verdict.

One is the credibility of the four women accusing Ghislaine Maxwell of complicity in the sexual abuse.

The prosecution repeatedly told jurors that if they believed the women then Maxwell was guilty.

And the defence did its best to make the jury doubt their stories. The other issue is how much Maxwell knew.

The defence said she didn’t know what was going on because Jeffrey Epstein kept secrets from her, and that she was in effect being punished as a scapegoat for his crimes.

In response prosecution lawyer Maurene Comey dramatically pointed her finger at the defendant.

“This case is about that woman,” she said, declaring the idea she wasn’t aware that Mr Epstein “had a thing for teenage girls” as “borderline laughable”.

Maxwell herself took notes throughout much of the proceedings, occasionally whispering to her lawyer.

Four of her siblings sat in the bench just behind her in visible solidarity.

It’s possible a verdict could arrive by Christmas, which is Maxwell’s 60th birthday.

A New York City jury of six men and six women have begun deliberations in the sex abuse trial of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.

The jury retired around 17:00 local time (22:00 GMT) after six hours of closing arguments from trial lawyers about whether the socialite groomed underage girls for abuse by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

US prosecutors called her a "sophisticated predator”, while her lawyers said she was herself an “innocent” victim of Epstein.

The 59-year-old is accused of recruiting four teenage girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004.