BREAKING: Ghislaine Maxwell is appealing her 20-year sentence for conspiracy to commit sexual assault

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has officially filed paperwork to appeal her conviction and 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit sex bullying Jeffrey Epstein to exploit and sexually abuse minors.

Maxwell, 60, filed the appeal in New York federal court on Thursday, just over a week after she was sentenced to serve time in a low-security Danbury, Connecticut prison for smuggling young girls.

She was convicted last December on federal human trafficking charges, after a trial that lasted nearly a month. Finally, after five days of deliberation, the jury found her guilty of five of the six charges against her — including one for seducing underage girls to commit sexual acts with Epstein.

On June 28, Judge Alison Nathan handed down the 240-month sentence, followed by five years of supervised release, after calling Maxwell’s crimes “horrible and premature.”

She also fined $750,000 and noted that Maxwell had received a $10 million bequest from Epstein after his death.

‘Madam. Maxwell worked with Epstein to select young victims who were vulnerable and played a critical role in facilitating sexual abuse,” Judge Nathan said, making clear that the case required a “highly significant sentence” that sent an “unmistakable message” that such crimes would be punished.

But last week, Maxwell’s attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, said out of court: “Our client Ghislaine Maxwell has been vilified, pilloried and left little room for her to be treated fairly. Because even before she stumbled into this courthouse, she was tried and convicted in the court of public opinion.”

DailyMail.com has reached out to Sternheim for comment on her appeal.

Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured on sex bully Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet) was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison for smuggling young girls for him. She is now appealing that decision