Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years in prison for enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual exploitation of teen girls

Ghislaine Maxwell, the high-flying socialite born with a silver spoon in her mouth, completed her riches-to-rags descent Tuesday in shackles as she was sentenced to 20 years in prison for enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s serial abuse of children.

The steep prison term all but ensures Maxwell, described by Manhattan Federal Judge Alison Nathan as “instrumental” in Epstein’s international exploitation of teenage girls, will remain imprisoned until her twilight years.

Nathan rejected Maxwell’s longstanding defense that she had been scapegoated for the financier, who hanged himself at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019 while awaiting trial for underage sex trafficking.

“It is important at the outset to emphasize that although Epstein was of course central to this criminal scheme, Ms. Maxwell is not being punished in place of Epstein or as a proxy for Epstein,” said Nathan. “Ms. Maxwell is being punished for the role that she played in the criminal conduct. As to that role, the trial evidence established that Ms. Maxwell was instrumental in the abuse of several underage girls, and she herself participated in some of the abuse. ... The damage done to these young girls was incalculable.”

Maxwell, 60, learned her fate after making a somewhat remorseful statement to her victims that stopped short of an apology.

“I want to acknowledge their suffering. I empathize deeply with all of the victims in this case. I also acknowledge that I have been convicted of helping Jeffrey Epstein commit these crimes,” Maxwell said.

“I know that my association with Epstein and this case will forever and permanently stain me,” said Maxwell, wearing a blue jail jumpsuit. “It is the greatest regret of my life that I ever met Jeffrey Epstein.”

Testimony during last year’s trial revealed how Maxwell instructed teen victims as young as 14 on how to pleasure Epstein and sometimes even joined in the abuse. She forced them into repeated rapes and sexual assaults at his Palm Beach mansion, Upper East Side Townhouse, and remote “Zorro” ranch in New Mexico. Epstein’s sick routine typically began under the guise of a massage. As Epstein’s “Lady of the House,” Maxwell enforced a strict code of conduct that indulged his every desire while treating him like royalty. Maxwell kept a basket full of sex toys in her private bathroom at Epstein’s Palm Beach residence, which he used on underage victims.

Witnesses recalled Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, and other powerful men flying on Epstein’s private planes. A photo introduced at trial showed Epstein and Maxwell lounging at the Queen of England’s Scottish castle.

“Today’s sentence holds Ghislaine Maxwell accountable for perpetrating heinous crimes against children. This sentence sends a strong message that no one is above the law and it is never too late for justice,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.

Maxwell’s lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said her wealthy client had been “vilified and pilloried” and that she would appeal.

“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,” Sternheim said. “Clever and cunning to the end, Jeffrey Epstein left Ghislaine Maxwell holding the whole bag.”

Nathan, who also imposed a maximum fine of $750,000, handed down the sentence after a three-hour proceeding in which Maxwell’s victims detailed the enduring trauma of her and Epstein’s abuse.

The former socialite appeared tense at times, puffing her chest out to take deep breaths and looking resigned in other moments, staring into the distance with a glazed expression. She showed little emotion when the sentence came down.

In attendance were the British defendant’s siblings, who had written to Judge Nathan ahead of the sentencing. Also spotted was juror Scotty David, who almost jeopardized Maxwell’s conviction when he revealed discrepancies in his juror questionnaire in media interviews after the verdict.

Four victims described Maxwell as a master manipulator who had ruined their lives. One victim, Annie Farmer, asked Nathan to consider the women’s “ongoing suffering” and the calculated nature of Epstein and Maxwell’s crimes.

“She doesn’t think what she did was wrong. She is not sorry, and she would do it again,” said another victim, Kate, who described Maxwell as a “manipulative, cruel and merciless person” who “only uses kindness to manipulate.”

Victim Elizabeth Stein said the predatory couple had “almost killed me.”

“For the past 25 years, Ghislaine Maxwell has been free to live a life of wealth and privilege,” said Stein. “She’s had her life. It’s time to have mine. She needs to be imprisoned so all of her victims can be free.”