Prosecutors seek 30 to 55-year sentence for Ghislaine Maxwell

Tom Winter and Jonathan Dienst and Phil Helsel and Colin Sheeley and Alec Hernandez
Updated ·2 min read
69
Prosecutors seek 30 to 55-year sentence for Ghislaine Maxwell

Federal prosecutors say convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell should be sentenced to a minimum of 30 years and up to 55 years for her “instrumental role in the horrific sexual abuse of multiple young teenage girls," according to a sentencing memorandum.

In the memorandum filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, prosecutors wrote Maxwell, a British socialite, enjoyed "a life of extraordinary luxury and privilege" while engaging in a "disturbing agreement" with financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell, 60, was convicted in December of five federal sex trafficking charges related to her role in recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein, her close confidant.

“Instead of showing even a hint of acceptance of responsibility, the defendant makes a desperate attempt to cast blame wherever else she can,” prosecutors said in the sentencing memo.

Maxwell’s attempts to “cast aspersions on the Government for prosecuting her, and her claim that she is being held responsible for Epstein’s crimes, are both absurd and offensive,” prosecutors added.

In the memo, prosecutors wrote that Maxwell recently reported that she has almost no assets despite telling the court in bail applications that she had $22 million.

Prosecutors in the memo described Maxwell as a multi-millionaire and said the court should impose the maximum total allowable fine of $750,000.

Maxwell’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Thursday.

Last week, they filed a sentencing memorandum in which they argued for a sentence below the 20 years recommended by the probation department.

The memo, filed June 15, says Maxwell shouldn’t be sentenced as a proxy for Epstein. “It would be a travesty of justice for her to face a sentence that would have been appropriate for Epstein,” it says.

In another document, Maxwell's attorneys claim the correct sentencing guidelines is between 51 and 63 months, or less than six years.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 for procuring a child for prostitution, and died by suicide in 2019 at a Manhattan correctional center where he was being held on federal sex-trafficking charges.

Maxwell's sentencing is scheduled for June 28.