US judge rejects Ghislaine Maxwell's 'frivolous' appeal against conviction

Ghislaine Maxwell's latest bid to overturn her sex trafficking conviction has been rejected by a US judge, who dismissed her claims as "frivolous" and "meritless".

The 64-year-old is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in procuring girls for the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after being found guilty in December 2021.

Maxwell had appealed against her five felony convictions, claiming her constitutional rights had been "violated in multiple respects".

But a New York judge flatly rejected the appeal, describing it as "lengthy and rambling".

Maxwell said Epstein-related documents released by the US Justice Department earlier this year supported her case that she had been wrongly convicted.

But the judge ruled that "far from exculpating her, it incriminates her or reinforces the correctness" of her conviction.

The judge warned Maxwell against making further appeals, saying it "would not be taken in good faith" by the court.