Maxwell verdict bodes ill for Prince Andrew's civil case

Prince Andrew wasn’t on trial in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case but her conviction is bad news for the man who is ninth in line to the British throne

LONDON -- Prince Andrew wasn’t on trial in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case, but her conviction is bad news for the man who is ninth in line to the British throne.

With the conclusion of the Maxwell case, attention will now turn to a U.S. civil suit in which the plaintiff alleges Maxwell and long-time boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein took her to London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands to have sex with Andrew when she was underage.

Andrew denies the allegations, but Wednesday’s verdict shows that at least one American jury was willing to believe the young women trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell in a criminal case, where the standard of proof is higher than in civil cases.

“To the extent there’s overlap of evidence with respect to Prince Andrew’s case, it certainly doesn’t bode well,’’ said Bradley Simon, a former U.S. federal prosecutor who now works as a defense attorney in complex civil cases. “But, as I said, every case hinges on its own specific facts and the judges will always instruct the jury on that.”