Ghislaine Maxwell Sentenced To 20 Years Imprisonment For Aiding Epstein in Sex Trafficking

Former British socialite, Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in a United State prison for helping former financier Jeffrey Epstein abuse young women.

Maxwell, 60, was convicted in December of recruiting and trafficking four teenage girls for sexual abuse by Epstein, her then boyfriend.

One of her accusers said outside the court in New York that she should stay in prison for the rest of her life.

Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019.

He had been awaiting his own sex trafficking trial.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes took place over a decade, between 1994 and 2004.

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Pronouncing the sentence, Judge Alison J Nathan said Maxwell’s conduct had been “heinous and predatory“.

“Ms Maxwell worked with Epstein to select young victims who were vulnerable and played a pivotal role in facilitating sexual abuse,” she added.

She said the case called for a “very significant sentence” and that she wanted to send an “unmistakable message” that such crimes would be punished.

As well as jail time, the judge imposed a fine of $750,000 (£610,000).

Maxwell, whose lawyers had argued for a term of less than five years, looked straight ahead and showed no emotion as the sentence was passed in front of a packed public gallery.

Earlier, she addressed her victims. She said she empathized with them, adding that she hoped her prison sentence would allow the victims “peace and finality“.