The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, leaving intact her 2022 conviction and 20-year prison sentence for aiding Jeffrey Epstein in a years-long scheme of sexual abuse involving underage girls.

Maxwell had argued that her prosecution was improper, citing a 2007 non-prosecution agreement (NPA) between Epstein and federal prosecutors in Florida. She claimed the deal extended immunity to alleged co-conspirators — including herself — and should have barred the charges brought against her in New York.

The justices offered no explanation for their decision, as is customary in such cases.

Maxwell was convicted on three counts, including sex trafficking and conspiracy, for her role in recruiting and grooming girls, some as young as 14, to be abused by Epstein between 1994 and 2004. Prosecutors said she was integral to Epstein’s operation, luring victims under the guise of offering financial help or mentorship.

Her legal team contended that the 2007 agreement — which allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges in exchange for pleading guilty to lesser state offenses — should have protected her as well. However, the Justice Department has long maintained that the agreement was limited to the Southern District of Florida and did not shield individuals outside that jurisdiction or those prosecuted elsewhere.

Lower courts sided with the government, and federal appellate courts have been split on whether such non-prosecution agreements apply beyond the district in which they are made.

“We are disappointed the Supreme Court declined to address this important legal issue,” Maxwell’s attorney David O. Markus said in a statement following the decision.

Maxwell, 62, is currently serving her sentence at a federal facility in Florida. Her conviction remains one of the most high-profile outcomes in the long-running investigation into Epstein’s network, which continues to spark lawsuits and public scrutiny years after his death in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019.