Disgraced socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the sex-trafficking ring of young teens she helped financier Jeffrey Epstein run for a decade.
The punishment doled out by U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan on Tuesday marks the most concrete punishment yet for the years of abuse Maxwell and Epstein imposed on young girls.
Several of those girls, now adults, testified during the trial, bravely pulling the curtain back on years of abuse they suffered after Maxwell and Epstein tugged them into their orbit. The two often used the allure of wealth and their connections to powerful people such as Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.
"Today's sentence holds Ghislaine Maxwell accountable for perpetrating heinous crimes against children," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement tweeted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. "This sentence sends a strong message that no one is above the law and it is never too late for justice."
The women were heard again on Tuesday. Eight women sent the court victim impact statements — unredacted, over Maxwell's objections — describing the long-lasting effects of Maxwell's crimes. Nathan ruled that six of the victims were also free to speak at the hearing if they chose to.
# Prosecutors wanted Maxwell to serve up to 55 years
The U.S. Probation Department recommended a 20-year sentence for Maxwell, based on federal guidelines for crimes that were "heinous and predatory in nature." But prosecutors sought a sentence between 30 and 55 years, citing the number of victims and Maxwell's refusal to take responsibility.
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Maxwell, 60, was sentenced roughly six months after a jury found her guilty of sex trafficking a minor and other serious felonies. Epstein, who was a convicted sex offender, died in August 2019 at a Manhattan correctional facility. Authorities had arrested him one month earlier. His death was ruled a suicide.
Maxwell asked for a much more lenient sentence of only around five years in prison, saying she's being punished for her longtime companion's crimes.
"Epstein was the mastermind, Epstein was the principal abuser," her attorney said in a court filing earlier this month that was notable because it was one of the few instances in which Maxwell acknowledged sexual crimes took place.
Her defense team said Maxwell has "experienced hard time" in the Metropolitan Detention Center where she's been held, adding that her life has been threatened there. But prosecutors dismissed those claims and cited Maxwell's "utter lack of remorse" for her actions.
Prosecutors also asked Nathan to impose a $750,000 fine on Maxwell — the maximum allowed for her crimes. But they stopped short of seeking financial restitution, saying the victims who participated in the case have already received money through the Epstein Victim Compensation Program and/or civil settlements.
