NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Ghislanie Maxwell, who helped wealthy globe-trotting financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage females, was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison. She was also fined $750,000.
At Tuesday's sentencing, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan said she must apply the sentencing guidelines in place at the time the offense was committed, saying 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.
Nathan said before announcing the sentence, "Miss Maxwell directly and repeatedly and over the course of many years participated in a horrific scheme to entice, transport and traffic underage girls, some as young as 14 ... Miss Maxwell is not being punished in place of Epstein nor as a proxy for Epstein. Miss Maxwell is being punished for her role."
Nathan also said she took into consideration Maxwell’s "overbearing and demanding father" and the “tragic death” of her brother.
One of Epstein and Maxwell's victim's, Virginia Giuffre, had a statement read by her lawyer Sigrid McCawley, at the hearing.
"My promise to you is as follows: As long as you and perpetrators like you continue to prey upon the vulnerable, I will not stop standing up and speaking out," read Giuffre's statement. "Together, with so many others you abused, we will do all we can to keep predators from stealing the innocence of children. I will never give up. I will never go away. If you ever get out of prison, I will be here, watching you, making sure you never hurt anyone else again."
Photo credit Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Maxwell, 60, was convicted in December by a jury of sex trafficking, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts and two conspiracy charges.
Prosecutors said she deserved 30 to 55 years in prison. Her defense team asked for a prison term of just 51 months (4.25 years) to 63 months 5.25 years).
Maxwell, whose social circle included public figures spanning the worlds of entertainment, politics, business and royalty, has denied abusing anyone.
At Tuesday's hearing, Maxwell said, "The terrible impact on the lives of so many women is difficult to hear and even more difficult to absorb in its scale and it extent. I want to acknowledge their suffering. I empathize deeply with all of the victims in this case.”
Photo credit Davidoff Studios/Getty Images
Maxwell was key to Epstein -- who killed himself in 2019 in a cell at Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center awaiting trial -- in helping secure girls as young as 14 to sexually assault, prosecutors argued.
“Maxwell’s conduct was shockingly predatory," prosecutors wrote in a court filing. "She was a calculating, sophisticated, and dangerous criminal who preyed on vulnerable young girls and groomed them for sexual abuse."
The filing continued, "The witnesses at trial testified about Ms. Maxwell’s facilitation of Epstein’s abuse, but Epstein was always the central figure: Epstein was the mastermind, Epstein was the principal abuser, and Epstein orchestrated the crimes for his personal gratification."
Related
Related
Related
Related
