Ghislaine Maxwell Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Sex Trafficking

Former British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking underage girls on behalf of former financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Prior to her sentencing, Maxwell addressed the courtroom which included a number of her and Epstein’s victims saying the disgraced financier was a "manipulative, cunning and controlling man" who managed to deceive everyone in his life.   

“It is the greatest regret of my life that I ever met Jeffrey Epstein,”

- Ghislaine Maxwell

The former socialite said she was “sorry” for the impact Epstein’s abuse had on his victims.

Maxwell was convicted of procuring and grooming at least four teenage girls for her then boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse.

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The abuse is believed to have taken place between 1994 and 2004. 

While handing down the sentence, Judge Alison Nathan said that Maxwell failed to take responsibility for her part in the abuse, nor was she remorseful.

"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," she said.

"The damage done to these young girls was incalculable."

- Judge Alison Nathan

Throughout the lengthy trial which has played out over several months, Maxwell’s legal team have maintained that the former socialite has become a scapegoat for Epstein’s abuse after the 66-year-old managed to escape his own trial by killing himself in his jail cell. 

The sentencing was welcome news to Maxwell’s victims who gave emotional testimonies during the highly publicised trial. 

Defence lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said Maxwell has plans to appeal her sentence and would argue that the media frenzy surrounding the trial inhibited her right to a fair trial. 

"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,"

- Bobbi Sternheim

"Clever and cunning to the end, Jeffrey Epstein left Ghislaine Maxwell holding the whole bag."

Maxwell has been in police custody since her arrest in July of 2020 and was recently put on suicide watch at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre.

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