Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping Jeffrey Epstein traffic and sexually abuse teenage girls.
Prosecutors are disappointed to learn that Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to only 20 years in jail as they were hoping for at least a 30-year sentence.
The former socialite was arrested in July 2020 and was repeatedly denied bail.
Maxwell has now been convicted of recruiting and grooming four girls to engage in sexual acts with her then-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein between 2994 and 2004.
Maxwell claimed that she too was under the billionaire’s spell, saying that Epstein was a “manipulative, cunning and controlling man”.
She also went on to apologise to the victims for the pain that she caused.
“It is the greatest regret of my life that I ever met Jeffrey Epstein,” She said.
Despite her best efforts to be convincing, US Circuit Judge Alison Nathan said Maxwell didn’t seem to express remorse or accept responsibility.
“Maxwell directly and repeatedly and over the course of many years participated in a horrific scheme to entice, transport and traffic underage girls, some as young as 14, for sexual abuse by and with Jeffrey Epstein,” Nathan said.
“The damage done to these young girls was incalculable.”
Maxwell’s victims were able to finally see some form of closure with this verdict after being robbed of that for Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting his trial.
The four women who testified in Maxwell’s trial confirmed that she was a key player in their abuse by Epstein.
Annie Farmer, who testified on Tuesday said her experience being exploited by Maxwell “resulted in significant shame”.
Another victim known as ‘Kate’ said she was glad to hold Maxwell accountable: “Today, I can look at Ghislaine and tell her that I became what I am today in spite of her and her efforts to make me feel powerless and insignificant, and I will cast that empowerment on my daughter,”
Maxwell’s lawyer, Bobbi Sternheim said they plan to appeal the verdict.
“We all know that the person who should have been sentenced today escaped accountability, avoided his victims, avoided absorbing their pain and receiving the punishment he truly deserved,” Sternhaim said.
The newly convicted sex offender holds a maximum possible sentence of 55 years.
