Jeffrey Epstein Ex Ghislaine Maxwell Just Got 20 Years For 'Heinous' Sex Trafficking Crimes
“They were partners in crime."
Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend-turned-confidante, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping him recruit and abuse teenaged girls.
Maxwell, 60, was found guilty late last year of recruiting, grooming and trafficking four girls for Epstein, the convicted sex offender and financier who killed himself while facing similar charges.
Her crimes happened between 1994 and 2004, but they didn't come to light until Epstein himself was caught and charged in 2019. He ended up dying in jail while awaiting his own sex trafficking trial, but Maxwell was seen as his right-hand woman, and on Tuesday she was punished for it.
A judge hit Maxwell with the 20-year sentence and a $750,000 fine in order to send an "unmistakable message" that her actions were unacceptable on Tuesday. The judge also described Maxwell as "heinous and predatory" for the way she lured women into Epstein's clutches.
Maxwell seemed to blame Epstein when given the chance to speak at her sentencing on Tuesday. She said meeting him was the "greatest regret" of her life, and she described him as a "manipulative, cunning and controlling man who lived a profoundly compartmentalized life."
She has denied ever abusing anyone, although prosecutors have said she was complicit in his actions.
“They were partners in crime together and they molested these kids together,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe said, per the Associated Press.
Several of Epstein's victims were in the court to watch or speak up during the sentencing on Tuesday.
"We will continue to live with the harm she caused us," Annie Farmer, one of the four women in the case, said in court.
"You broke me in unfathomable ways," said Sarah Ransome, another accuser who was not involved with the charges. "But you did not break my spirit."
Maxwell was convicted on December 29 of conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors to participate in illegal sex acts, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor.
She has been in custody for nearly two years, though she has filed several complaints in that time about the conditions of her life behind bars.
Maxwell was also sentenced to five years of supervised release after her prison term is up.