WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s challenge to her criminal conviction for recruiting and grooming teenage girls for sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein.

The decision means that Maxwell’s conviction on three counts and her 20-year criminal sentence remain in place.

Maxwell’s lawyer David Oscar Markus argued in court papers that an agreement Epstein made with prosecutors in Florida, in which the then-U.S. attorney pledged not to prosecute him or potential co-conspirators, should apply to one of the three counts in her case, which was prosecuted in New York.

"We’re, of course, deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell’s case," Markus said in a statement. "But this fight isn’t over. Serious legal and factual issues remain, and we will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done," he added.

At issue in Maxwell’s appeal was whether the terms of a so-called nonprosecution agreement apply only in the district where it was negotiated or also bind federal prosecutors nationwide.