Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for procuring teenage girls to be sexually abused by late financier Jeffrey Epstein after calling him a “manipulative, cunning and controlling man.”
A jury found Maxwell guilty in December after a month-long trial of recruiting and grooming teenage girls for sexual encounters with her and Epstein between 1994 and 2004 at the late billionaire’s mansions and estates in Manhattan, New Mexico, Florida and the Virgin Islands.
Before the sentence was handed down, Maxwell addressed the court. “I believe that Jeffrey Epstein was a manipulative, cunning and controlling man who lived a profoundly compartmentalized life and filled all of those in his orbit,” said Maxwell, 60, who wore blue prison scrubs.
Epstein, a convicted pedophile, killed himself at 66 in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on a sex trafficking indictment.
GHISLAINE MAXWELL’S CELLMATE CLAIMS SHE WAS ‘OFFERED MONEY’ TO KILL MAXWELL
Maxwell then turned and spoke directly to many of her victims who were seated in the gallery. “I am sorry for the pain that you experienced,” she said. “I hope my conviction and harsh incarceration brings you pleasure.”
Eight women submitted victim impact statements describing the sexual abuse they said they endured at the hands of Maxwell and Epstein.
Annie Farmer said in her written victim impact statement that she had tried her best to keep the “dark memory” of what occurred locked away, describing the abuse she said she suffered at the hands of Maxwell and Epstein as a “sickening feeling that makes you want to disappear.”
She said that the long fight for justice has “felt like a black hole sucking in our precious time, energy and well-being” as she implored the judge to consider the appropriate prison sentence.
This is a breaking news story; check back for updates.
Rebecca Rosenberg is a veteran journalist and book author with a focus on crime and criminal justice. Email tips to [email protected] and @ReRosenberg.
