Substitute while the actions of the article are loading
NEW YORK – Gislane Maxwell, who was convicted last year of trafficking young victims of sex violence by financier Jeffrey Epstein for a decade, is expected to be convicted Tuesday in a procedure that will allow several women to talk about their suffering. .
Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to give Maxwell, 61, at least 30 years in prison for what they say is her “instrumental” role in plotting to sell women victims of Epstein at his home in Palm Beach, Florida, his mansion in Palm Beach. Manhattan, his ranch in New Mexico and his private island in the Caribbean from 1994 to 2004.
“After her, Maxwell left his victims forever marked by emotional and psychological injuries,” prosecutors wrote in their June 22 sentencing presentation. “This damage can never be undone, but it can be explained by making a fair sentence for Maxwell’s crimes.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting a sexual trafficking trial and related charges. His death, which was declared a suicide, sparked an investigation by the Justice Department and led dozens of women who said Epstein had abused them to say they had been robbed by justice. Maxwell was indicted a year later.
In presenting the verdict this month, Maxwell’s legal team argued that she should not be given significant imprisonment, “as if she were Epstein’s attorney, simply because Epstein is no longer here.”
“It would be a parody of justice for her to receive a sentence that would be appropriate for Epstein,” the file said.
Gislane Maxwell has been convicted of trafficking girls to Jeffrey Epstein
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges of procuring a minor for prostitution and spent about a year in prison in Florida, with extensive privileges of release. His plea agreement was reviewed years later, following an Miami Herald investigation that documented the extent of his abuse.
In the following years, lawsuits and new charges were filed against people in Epstein and Maxwell’s social circle, including Britain’s Prince Andrew, who settled a civil case with Epstein’s prosecutor, Virginia Juffre, in March. The disgraced royal repeatedly denies having had sexual contact with Juffrey, who claims to have been trafficked by Epstein.
Prince Andrew handles sexual assault case against woman who says she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein
The indictment against Epstein in New York in 2019 was seen as a second chance for his victims to see him face serious criminal consequences. After his death, investigators turned their attention to Maxwell, who has long been rumored to be involved in Epstein’s sexual violence against minors and young women.
Prosecutors called it “absurd and insulting” that Maxwell, who had been Epstein’s romantic partner for years, believed she was a scapegoat.
Maxwell recruits and maintains teens for Epstein, who expects multiple daily massages at home from young women who are not professional masseurs and who have been forced to engage in sexual behavior with him during meetings, according to evidence presented during the trial against Maxwell.
She was looking for troubled young women, often from unstable homes, who were lured by the promise of easy money, prosecutors said. In some cases, she herself had sexual contact with the victims – apparently preparing them for sessions with Epstein, for which they were paid hundreds in cash per visit.
Maxwell arranged travel and lodging for some girls, prosecutors say, and took an interest in their lives while posing as a friendly, reliable elderly woman.
Three women will be allowed to make statements when the sentence is handed down, and five others will be allowed to make written statements for the judge to consider.
Gislane Maxwell’s Test: Another Woman Describes She Was Prepared for Epstein
In addition to their romantic relationship, Maxwell played a role in Epstein’s house management and lifestyle.
Her lawyers said she was not an active participant in the abuse of Epstein and deserved leniency because she was also vulnerable when she met Epstein after her father, Robert Maxwell, a controversial media mogul, died in suspicious circumstances. Maxwell also had a troubled childhood, lawyers said, describing years of absent parenting and the trauma of one of her older brothers.
“The court cannot heal the wounds caused by Epstein by accumulating on Ms Maxwell’s shoulders the pain of each of her victims, public outrage, public contempt for the community and then banishing her from the community forever,” the lawyers said. your claim.
They also sent letters from people listing Maxwell’s positive qualities. Handwritten note by Tatiana Venegas, 31, a a co-prisoner at the capital’s detention center in Brooklyn, describes Maxwell as a friendly man who voluntarily teaches yoga and English to some of his girlfriends.
Maxwell, through her lawyer, has filed frequent complaints about her detention – accusing prison administrators of subjecting her to overly restrictive levels of surveillance and keeping her in solitary confinement, which Maxwell’s lawyers say is reaction to the failure of the Prison Bureau to keep Epstein alive in custody.
Maxwell’s lawyers recently complained that she had been unnecessarily relocated to a suicide monitoring area, where she could not review documents related to her sentence.
Add Comment