Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking

Socialite earlier convicted of helping financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls

Trial evidence shows British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and US financier Jeffrey Epstein. US District Court for the Southern District of New York / AFP

Maxwell and Epstein have been found guilty of sex charges related to underage girls. US District Court for the Southern District of New York / AFP

Britain's Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell at one of Epstein's properties. Maxwell used her "femininity to betray us" like she was "a wolf in sheep's clothing", one of Epstein's victims said before Maxwell's sentencing in New York.

Epstein and Maxwell, who groomed and procured underaged girls for him. US District Court for the Southern District of New York / AFP

Epstein, Maxwell and French model agent Jean-Luc Brunel on the financier's private jet, the 'Lolita Express'. Brunel died in prison in February while awaiting charges including raping minors. Photo: Shutterstock

Judge Alison Nathan and Ghislaine Maxwell in a courtroom sketch. Reuters

Maxwell with Epstein.

Maxwell gives Epstein a foot massage.

In a courtroom sketch, FBI analyst Kimberly Meder testifies during Ghislaine Maxwell's sex-abuse trial about a photo, shown on video, of Maxwell massaging Epstein's foot at his home. AP

This photo of Maxwell and Epstein was entered into evidence by the US Attorney's Office. Photo: US Attorney's Office / Reuters

US Department of Justice evidence.

Maxwell with Epstein.

British socialite Maxwell was convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.

Maxwell and Epstein. US District Court for the Southern District of New York / AFP

Another trial evidence image of Maxwell and Epstein. US District Court for the Southern District of New York / AFP

Another evidence photo of Maxwell and Epstein. Reuters

Maxwell reportedly dated Epstein and then became a recruiter of young girls for him.

A photo of Maxwell living the high life entered into evidence by the US Attorney's Office.

A photo issued by US Department of Justice shows the interior of one of Epstein's private planes.

Epstein's third private plane.

An aerial view of Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands.

An advertisement for a massage therapist shown to the court during Maxwell's trial.

A photo issued by US Department of Justice shows the massage room at Epstein's New York house.

Another image of the massage room entered into evidence.

Maxwell once tried for a career dealing with climate change. Getty / AFP

Maxwell attends the 2014 Education through Music Children's Benefit Gala at Capitale in New York. The charity was started by Epstein. Getty / AFP

Epstein's mugshot. He committed suicide in his cell in 2019. Photo: New York State Sex Offender Registry / AFP

A headline from 'The Times' in a London store on December 30, 2021, the morning after a jury in New York found Maxwell guilty of recruiting and grooming young girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. AFP

A selection of headlines from British newspapers. AFP

Kevin Maxwell, Isabel Maxwell and Christine Maxwell, brother and sisters of Ghislaine, walk outside the courtroom after she was found guilty. Reuters

Maxwell's lawyer, Christian Everdell, leaves the US Federal District Court after she was found guilty. EPA

Laura Menninger and Jeffrey Pagliuca, members of Maxwell's legal team, after her guilty verdict. EPA

Maxwell's lead lawyer Bobbi Sternheim leaves the US Federal District Court after her client was found guilty on five of six sex-trafficking charges. EPA

A protester outside court when Maxwell made her first appearance in July 2020. AFP

A protester outside Maxwell's trial. Getty / AFP

A protester holds a placard during a rally in New York City for Epstein survivors. Reuters

Demonstrators rally in solidarity with the Epstein and Maxwell survivors in New York City. AFP

Sarah Ransome testified against Maxwell. AP

Ghislaine Maxwell on Tuesday was sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.

The sentencing was the culmination of a prosecution that detailed how Epstein and Maxwell had flaunted their riches and associations with prominent people to groom vulnerable girls and then exploit them.

Those crimes occurred even as the couple hobnobbed with some of the world’s most famous and wealthy people, including former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump and Britain's Prince Andrew. Epstein killed himself in jail while awaiting trial. Maxwell denied being Epstein’s accomplice.

The British socialite was convicted in December of recruiting and grooming four girls to have sexual encounters with Epstein — who was her boyfriend at the time — between 1994 and 2004.

US Circuit Judge Alison Nathan ruled that she must apply the sentencing guidelines in place at the time the offence was committed.

The judge said that applying the current guidelines would result in a “significantly longer sentence” than she would get under the ones that were in place when the crime happened.

Ms Nathan added that calculating a sentence for Maxwell hinged on whether there is any evidence that shows criminal conduct continued after November 1, 2004.

The judge said there was not evidence to support the higher guidelines sought by prosecutors.

A number of victims are expected to be in the federal courtroom and will be given a chance to speak before Ms Nathan imposes her sentence. Maxwell herself will also have what may be her last opportunity to speak publicly. She chose not to speak in her own defence at her month-long trial.

Maxwell's trial was widely seen as the reckoning that Epstein — who killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 at age 66 while awaiting his own sex trafficking trial — never had. It was one of the highest-profile cases that rose out of the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to speak out about sexual abuse, especially that which occurred at the hands of wealthy and powerful people.

Four women took the stand against Maxwell, describing how they were sexually abused as teenagers from 1994 to 2004 at Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion, Palm Beach estate and New Mexico ranch, as well as Maxwell’s London town house, among other luxury properties.

Calling Maxwell's conduct “shockingly predatory”, prosecutors said she deserves to spend at least 30 years in prison, reflecting the federal sentencing guidelines.

“She made the choice to conspire with Epstein for years, working as partners in crime and causing devastating harm to vulnerable victims,” prosecutor Maurene Comey argued in the government’s sentencing memo to the court. “She should be held accountable for her disturbing role in an extensive child exploitation scheme.”

Maxwell's lawyers had earlier said in court papers that she should be sentenced to no more than five and a quarter years, arguing that she was being scapegoated for Epstein's crimes and that she had already spent significant time in jail.

She was arrested in July 2020 and repeatedly denied bail. Since then, she has been held mostly at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention centre, where she has complained of vermin and the scent of raw sewage in her cell. Her lawyer has compared her confinement conditions to those of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.

Maxwell was placed on suicide watch at the weekend, but her lawyers said she was not suicidal.

Agencies contributed to this report