Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping pedophile Jeffrey Epstein sexually assault teenage girls.
Axwell said Tuesday that it was her “greatest regret” to have ever met Epstein as the British socialite prepared to be convicted of helping the sex offender and world traveler financier sexually abuse underage girls.
Speaking in Manhattan federal court, Maxwell called Epstein a “manipulative, cunning and controlling man” who fooled everyone in his job, saying she was “sorry” for the pain his victims experienced.
“It is the biggest regret of my life that I have ever met Jeffrey Epstein,” said Maxwell.
Maxwell, 60, was convicted in December 2021 of recruiting and grooming girls for sexual encounters with Epstein, then her boyfriend, between 1994 and 2004.
The harsh 20-year sentence was the punctuation mark in a trial that examined the sordid rituals of a predatory power couple who courted the rich and famous as they lured vulnerable girls as young as 14 and then exploited them.
Prosecutors said Epstein, who committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial, was sexually assaulted hundreds of times over more than a decade, and could not have done so without the help of Maxwell, his longtime companion and former girlfriend.
In December, a jury convicted Maxwell of sex trafficking, transporting a minor to engage in illegal sex acts, and two charges of conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge Alison J Nathan, who also fined $750,000, said “a very substantial punishment is necessary” and that she wanted to send an “unmistakable message” that crimes like this would be punished.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Maxwell to 30 to 55 years in prison, while Maxwell’s defense demanded a lenient sentence of just five years.
Maxwell, dressed in a blue prison uniform and white mask to comply with coronavirus rules, sat quietly before sentencing, looking ahead as assistant US attorney Alison Moe told how Maxwell subjected girls to “horrific nightmares” by taking them to Epstein .
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Ghislaine Maxwell attends her sentencing hearing in a New York courtroom sketch. Image: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg
“They were partners in crime together and they molested these children together,” she said, calling Maxwell “a person who was indifferent to the suffering of other people.”
When given the chance to speak, Maxwell said she sympathized with the survivors and that it was her “greatest regret of my life that I ever met Jeffrey Epstein.”
Maxwell called him “a manipulative, cunning and controlling man who lived a deeply compartmentalized life,” echoing her lawyers’ allegations, in court files calling for a lenient sentence, that Epstein was the true mastermind.
Maxwell, who denies assaulting anyone, said she hoped her conviction and her “unusual incarceration” would bring a “measure of peace and finality”.
Several survivors described their sexual abuse, including Annie Farmer, whose voice broke several times when she said “we will live with the damage she has done to us”.
Farmer said she and her sister tried to make their stories about Epstein and Maxwell public two decades ago, but were turned off by the powerful couple through threats and influence from authorities.
In the crowded courtroom, three of Maxwell’s siblings sat in a row behind her. Most of the other attendees were members of the media.
Epstein and Maxwell’s associations with some of the world’s most famous people weren’t a prominent part of the process, but mentions of friends like Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Britain’s Prince Andrew showed how the pair exploited their connections to impress. their prey.
Over the past 17 years, dozens of women have accused Epstein of abusing them. Many described Maxwell as a lady who recruited them to give Epstein massages.
However, the trial revolved around accusations made by only a handful of those women.
Four testified that they were abused as teenagers in the 1990s and early 2000s in Epstein’s mansions in Florida, New York, New Mexico and the Virgin Islands.
Three were identified in court by their first name or pseudonym only to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, an ex-model from the UK; and Carolyn, now a mother recovering from drug addiction. The fourth was Farmer, the only prosecutor to identify herself by her real name in court after speaking out publicly.
They described how Maxwell enchanted them with talks and gifts, promising that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams.
Then, they testified, she led them to give Epstein massages that turned sexual and played it out like normal.
In her victim statement, Virginia Giuffre accused Maxwell of “opening the door to hell” by introducing her and other victims to Epstein.
Read Ms Giuffre’s full statement below:
Your Honor, my name is Virginia Roberts Giuffre. For over two years, aged 16 to 19, I was abused by Ghislaine Maxwell.
Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge and express my gratitude to the police, FBI investigators, prosecutors and judges who have invested their time and integrity in this case for hopefully setting a precedent for the victims and the hunters who hunt them.
Now, if it pleases the court, I would like to address my victim statement directly to Ghislaine Maxwell.
Ghislaine, 22 years ago, in the summer of 2000, you saw me at the Mar-a-Lago Hotel in Florida, and you made a choice. You chose to follow me and purchase me for Jeffrey Epstein.
A few hours later, you and he abused me together for the first time. Together you have damaged me physically, mentally, sexually and emotionally.
Together you did unthinkable things that still have a corrosive effect on me to this day.
I want to be clear about one thing: Jeffrey Epstein was undoubtedly a terrible pedophile. But I would never have met Jeffrey Epstein if it weren’t for you.
For me, and for so many others, you opened the door to hell.
And then, Ghislaine, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, you used your femininity to betray us, and you led us all through it.
When you did, Ghislaine, you changed the course of our lives forever. You joked that you were like a new mother to us.
As a woman, I think you understood the damage you were doing – the price you made us pay as victims.
You could have ended the rapes, the disturbances, the sickening manipulations that you have organized, seen and even experienced.
You could have called the authorities and reported that you were part of something terrible.
I was young and naive when we met, Ghislaine, but you knew that. In fact, you counted on it.
My life as a young person had only just begun. You robbed me of that by exploiting my hopes and ambitions.
Ghislaine, the pain you have caused me is almost indescribable. Because of your choices and the world you brought me into, I don’t sleep. Nightmares always wake me up.
In those dreams I relive the terrible things you and others did to me and the things you forced me to do.
Those memories never go away. I have a hard time meeting new people without wondering if they will hurt me in some way too.
I don’t allow my kids to stay with friends or walk down the street alone.
I don’t trust anyone around them without me or my husband around.
I am hyper-vigilant, because I know that evil exists. You taught me that.
Not a day goes by that I don’t ask ‘Why?’ Why, Ghislaine, did you enjoy hurting us so much?
I worry every day and night that you will get away with it and not be punished.
I’ll worry about that until you’re brought to justice. And what should that justice look like?
Ghislaine, you deserve to spend the rest of your life in a cell. You deserve to be locked in a cage forever, just like you locked up your victims.
But, Ghislaine, I want you to know that while you tried to break me, you failed.
Despite you, I’ve grown into a woman who tries to do good in the world – a woman who, in her best days, feels like she’s making a difference.
My promise to you is this: As long as you and perpetrators like you continue to prey on the vulnerable, I will not stop standing up and speaking out.
Along with so many others you have abused, we will do everything we can to prevent predators from stealing children’s innocence.
I will never give up. I will never leave. If you ever get out of jail, I’ll be here to watch you and make sure you never hurt anyone else again.