Ghislaine Maxwell jailed for 20 Years for sex trafficking

A judge handed down a lengthy prison term for British socialite and Jeffrey Epstein associate.

Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Picture: Davidoff Studios/Getty Images

A judge handed down a lengthy prison term for British socialite and Jeffrey Epstein associate.

NEW YORK—A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell to 20 years in prison for what prosecutors said was a decadelong scheme to help disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.

After a trial late last year, a federal jury found Ms. Maxwell guilty of five of the six counts she faced. Four women testified during the trial that Ms. Maxwell recruited underage girls for Epstein, enabling his sexual abuse at properties in New York, Florida, New Mexico and elsewhere.

The most serious count, sex trafficking of minors, carried a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Prosecutors had asked for a term of at least 30 years, while defense lawyers said a term of significantly less than 20 years would be appropriate because they said Epstein was the principal abuser.

Donald Trump and his girlfriend (and future wife) Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida in 2000. Picture: Davidoff Studios/Getty Images

Before handing down the sentence, Judge Alison Nathan said Ms. Maxwell’s criminal conduct was far-reaching and a substantial prison term was necessary to deter others from exploiting underage victims.

“The damage done to these young girls was incalculable,” the judge said. She also imposed a $750,000 fine on Ms. Maxwell and ordered that she serve five years of supervised release after her prison term.

Judge Nathan, who now sits on the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, presided over the trial while serving as a district court judge.

Ms. Maxwell’s lawyers have said they will appeal the conviction.

Ghislaine Maxwell and Piers Morgan at an event in New York City in 2003. Picture: Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Ms. Maxwell, shackled and wearing blue jail garb, said at her sentencing that she acknowledged the accusers’ pain and hoped her conviction and incarceration would bring the women closure.

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

Several women who accused Ms. Maxwell of trafficking them to Epstein when they were younger spoke about their experiences at the sentencing hearing.

Sarah Ransome told Judge Nathan that she was abused 17 years ago and continues to suffer from the trauma. At the same time, Ms. Maxwell has shown no remorse for her actions, Ms. Ransome said.

Jeffrey Epstein's alleged victims Sarah Ransome (C) and Elizabeth Stein (L) arrive at Manhattan Federal court for the sentencing of former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell on June 28, 2022 in New York City. Picture: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

“Sentencing her to the rest of her life in prison will not change her, but it will give other survivors and I a slight sense of justice and help us as we continue to work to recover from the sex-trafficking hell she perpetrated,” Ms. Ransome said.

Prosecutors had said a term of more than 30 years was justified. Ms. Maxwell was Epstein’s partner in crime and preyed on vulnerable children, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe told Judge Nathan at the sentencing.

“These are the actions of a person who was indifferent to the suffering of other human beings,” she said.

Ms. Maxwell’s lawyers called for a much shorter sentence, saying that if Ms. Maxwell hadn’t met Epstein, she wouldn’t be in court. “Epstein was the mastermind, Epstein was the principal abuser, and Epstein orchestrated the crimes for his personal gratification,” her lawyers wrote.

Judge Nathan said at the sentencing that while Epstein played a central figure in the sexual abuse, Ms. Maxwell wasn’t being punished in place of him or as his proxy.

“She is being punished for the role she played,” the judge said.

Ms. Maxwell, 60 years old, was born in France, the daughter of publishing magnate Robert Maxwell. She had a difficult childhood, marred by family tragedy and her father’s corporal punishment, her lawyers said in court documents. She met Epstein in the early 1990s.

Ghislaine Maxwell. Picture: Mathieu Polak/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images

She was Epstein’s girlfriend for many years, traveling on his private planes and mingling with wealthy people, prosecutors wrote in court filings. She supervised his households, enforcing exacting standards on his staff, including stocking specific massage oils for Epstein, according to trial testimony.

Ms. Maxwell was arrested in the summer of 2020 and has been in federal jail. Epstein died in a federal jail in August 2019. The New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.