Ghislaine Maxwell sentence: Socialite jailed for 20 years for grooming girls for Epstein as she apologises to victims

DISGRACED socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been jailed for 20 years for decades of abuse after grooming dozens of girls for twisted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The 60-year-old lured vulnerable teenagers for vile multi-millionaire Epstein to abuse at his various luxurious properties - with the pair described as "partners in crime".

In what was described as the "trial of the century", the jury heard how Maxwell snared and "served up" girls as young as 14 for Epstein - and even joined in the abuse herself.

The prosecutor said Maxwell was a “sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing” who “ran the same playbook again and again and again”.

She was convicted of five out of six counts of sex trafficking by a jury in December.

Yesterday, Maxwell - dressed in a blue prison uniform, a white mask and with her ankles shackled - looked straight ahead and showed no emotion as she was hit with a 20-year jail term, followed by five years of supervised release.

Handing down the sentence, Judge Alison Nathan said Maxwell's victims were forced to live through the "painful, horrific and lasting impact of that trauma".

She continued: "The damage done to these girls was incalculable.

"Those who engage in and facilitate sexual abuse will be held accountable by the law. Whether you are rich or powerful, nobody is above the law."

Judge Nathan also imposed a $750,000 (£615k) fine on the heiress.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to give her 30 to 55 years in prison, while Maxwell's defense tried to get a more lenient sentence of just five years.

Wearing a prison-issued uniform, Maxwell apologised to her victims, saying she hopes her sentencing will allow them "peace and finality".

She told the court that meeting Epstein was her "greatest regret".

Maxwell said: "It is hard for me to address the court after listening to the pain and anguish expressed in the statements made here today.

"I believe that Jeffrey Epstein was a manipulative, cunning and controlling man who lived a profoundly compartmentalised life and fooled all of those in his orbit."

She said the predator "should have been here before all you", admitting: "Today is not about Epstein. It is for me to ultimately be sentenced."

Looking at her victims, Maxwell added: "I am sorry for the pain that you experienced.

I am sorry for the pain that you experienced.I hope my conviction and harsh incarceration brings you closure, peace and finality.

Ghislaine Maxwell

"I hope my conviction and harsh incarceration brings you brings you closure, peace and finality".

Maxwell said the knowledge of the effects of her crimes "tortures me every single day".

The socialite continually played with her hair, adjusted her mask and took sips from her water bottle during the hearing as three of her siblings watched on in the crowded court.

Epstein's victims, Sarah Ransome, Elizabeth Stein, Annie Farmer and the accuser known as "Kate", were also present in the courtroom and confronted Maxwell.

Speaking at the hearing, a victim known only as "Kate" said Maxwell was "not sorry and would do it again."

She added: "Ghislaine's lack of remorse and blatant refusal to take responsibility for her crimes towards us is her final insult.

"Someone who even had a difficult or abusive father does not excuse sex trafficking of minors.

"A lack of remorse or responsibility from Ghislaine is exactly how we can tell that she doesn't think what she did was wrong."

"The damage done to these girls was incalculable."

Annie Farmer said Maxwell's last-ditch attempt to apologise to her victims sounded "hollow" but that the victims were "happy" with the sentence.

It comes as...

• Maxwell hauled into court in shackles in dramatic sketch as she’s confronted by her victims
• Maxwell’s ‘close’ friendship with Prince Andrew revealed as they were ‘always with each other & may have DATED’
• Epstein survivor says she tried to kill herself twice after Maxwell's 'dungeon of hell'
• Maxwell victim says Andrew picture with Virginia Giuffre leaves her physically shaking
• Victims' lawyer claims Maxwell abused dozens more girls as she urges them to come forward

She told reporters outside the court: "Her statement very like a very hollow apology to me and she did not take responsibility for the crimes that she committed.

"It felt like once more her trying to do something to benefit her and not at all about the harm she had caused."

Bobbi Sternheim, a lawyer for Maxwell, said she would appeal her sentenced, arguing the public scrutiny of the case before the trial "left little room for her to be treated fairly."

She said: "We all know that the person who should have been sentenced today escaped accountability, avoided his victims, avoided absorbing their pain and receiving the punishment he truly deserved."

Maxwell has been described as Epstein's "madam" or "pimp" who would use money and charisma to lure in young girls - often promising them jobs and a lavish new life before he abused them.

And she is alleged to have been the one who introduced Prince Andrew to Epstein before the Duke allegedly had sex with 17-year-old sex slave Virginia Robert - a claim he strongly denies.

"For me, and for so many others, you opened the door to hell," Virginia said in a victim impact statement.

"And then, Ghislaine, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, you used your femininity to betray us, and you led us all through it."

Maxwell was a fixture in high society on both sides of the Atlantic - spending decades attending lavish parties in both New York and London.

She would hide in plain sight amongst the rich and powerful - all the while grooming girls for her on-and-off boyfriend Epstein.

The daughter of disgraced newspaper magnate Robert Maxwell, Maxwell was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

She became increasingly close with Epstein after her dad died - with two at one point being lovers after they are believed to have met in New York.

I was nothing more than a sex toy with a heartbeat and soul used to entertain Epstein, Maxwell and others

Sarah Ransome

And then throughout the 90s and 00s she would facilitate and allegedly participate in the financier's perverted sex scheme.

Victims described how she would ensnare them in an "upside-down, twisted world of rape, rape and more rape" - saying it was a "dungeon of sexual hell".

And they claimed Maxwell would attempt to intimidate them - even threatening to have them killed - once they escaped from the sex trafficking scheme.

Epstein survivor Sarah Ransome revealed how she tried to kill herself twice after being locked up by Maxwell.

She shared photos of herself in a hospital bed after the suicide attempts which she blamed on the trauma she suffered at the perverted whims of the couple.

"I was nothing more than a sex toy with a heartbeat and soul used to entertain Epstein, Maxwell and others," said Sarah.

And she added Maxwell was the "Five Star General" of a "decades-long sex trafficking conspiracy" who deserved no mercy from the courts.

Since the verdict in December, Maxwell has been holed up at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn - considered one of America's toughest jails.

The predator was held in solitary confinement for months and was placed on suicide watch and forced to wear a special "smock" before being transferred from a high security unit to a cell shared with other inmates.

In the lead up to her trial, Maxwell's lawyers repeatedly - and unsuccessfully - tried to persuade the judge to release her on bail, shamelessly complaining she was enduring a "living hell".

The moaning about her conditions only served to further insult the victims as they awaited justice.

Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019 - robbing his victims of the chance to face him in court.

But with Ghislaine finally snared by the FBI in July 2020 at her hideout in New Hampshire - there was finally some hope.

"Simply put, Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster," said alleged victim Juliette Bryant in a court filing before Ghislaine was sentenced.

"All of the victims, including myself, are eternally grateful for everyone that has helped expose these criminals."

Following her sentencing, Maxwell was recommended by the judge to be sent to a plush prison featuring a running track and even a gardening course.

The low-security FCI Danbury in Connecticut would give Maxwell more freedoms such as a library and even a running track.

TIP OF ICEBERG

On the final day of the trial, Assistant US Attorney Alison Moe summed up the prosecution case against Maxwell, who she said was a "grown woman who preyed on vulnerable kids”.

Moe said: “She manipulated her victims and groomed them. She caused deep and lasting harm to young girls.

"Epstein could not have done this alone. When that man is accompanied by a posh, smiling, respectable, age-appropriate woman, that's when everything starts to seem legitimate."

But a lawyer who represented Maxwell's victims has said the disgraced socialite abused dozens more who should come forward.

Lisa Bloom said the three women who Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and grooming for her one-time boyfriend Epstein to abuse are merely the "tip of the iceberg".

Bloom told The Sun Online: "We know that over 150 women came forward with sexual abuse accusations to the Jeffrey Epstein Victim Compensation Fund - I represented eight of them.

"We know that Ghislaine Maxwell has now been convicted of conspiring with him and sex trafficking girls to him.

“So it seems obvious to me that there are many more potential victims who could come forward against Ghislaine Maxwell.

“And they should so that she gets the maximum possible sentence for hurting so many women."

Bloom said that "most" of the 150 were groomed by Maxwell and the victims who have come forward are "the tip of the iceberg".