Murphy: Ghislaine Maxwell conviction shouldn’t stop there — what about the Johns, rapists?

Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted last week on multiple charges related to sex trafficking of children. It was welcome relief to those who worried justice would never be served after Jeffrey Epstein died.

But Maxwell going to prison offers less than a pound of flesh because none of the men who took advantage of Maxwell’s “services” has been charged. The buyers, the users, the customers the Johns, the rapists — call them what you will — have all evaded the law. Only one alleged customer, England’s Prince Andrew faces legal consequences for his role, and it’s only a civil case; he cannot be sent to prison.

Prince Andrew was sued in federal court in New York by Virginia Guiffre, perhaps the best-known victim of the Epstein/Maxwell trafficking scheme. She alleges that she was forced by Epstein/Maxwell to submit to sexual contact by Prince Andrew on multiple occasions. For unclear reasons, Guiffre did not participate in the trial against Maxwell, though public reports describe her as a trafficking victim who was targeted and groomed by Maxwell and Epstein, and made to service multiple men, including Andrew, over the course of many years.

The criminal charges against Maxwell did not include Guiffre. In fact, they were drawn so narrowly, very little was revealed during the trial about the scope of the business, and who actually participated. If we didn’t know better, we might have been misled by the trial to think Maxwell and Epstein were only servicing themselves.

Because Maxwell’s conviction revealed only a small slice of the truth, the public has now turned to Prince Andrew’s case in the hope it will reveal more information about the many powerful and well-heeled travelers on Epstein’s planes. How exactly did the operation work, how many girls and young women were involved, who did they service, where, etc?

Though private lawsuits are not typically the public’s business in the way criminal cases are, judges presiding over such cases are not immune from public pressure. The judge handling Prince Andrew’s case knows very well that people around the world are watching her every move. She understands the case involves important issues of wide public concern involving criminal sexual abuse of vulnerable girls in a variety of locations around the world.

The judge is also keenly aware that the men involved are among the wealthiest and most powerful on earth, and that American democracy is founded on the notion that no person is above the law. If so, the well-heeled customers must be brought to justice and the Prince Andrew case can help make that happen.

Will the judge use her authority to do justice, or will the case disappear quietly when the parties decide to settle right before the most damning information is revealed? Will Guiffre and her lawyers take the money, or will they demand a trial where the full truth can be told?

Before Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted, there were only allegations and speculation. Now that we have a verdict beyond a reasonable doubt that there was sex trafficking of minors, and that Maxwell made tens of millions of dollars managing the business for Epstein, the only remaining question is who were the customers and what exactly did they do?

Prince Andrew’s case is positioned to answer that question for at least one very powerful man, and maybe many more.