NEW YORK (AP) – Gislane Maxwell, a secular lioness who once mingled with royalty, presidents and billionaires, was brought to a courtroom in New York on Tuesday in a prison uniform and chained ankles to await her sentencing sentence. of financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuses underage girls.
U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan ruled that the federal sentencing guidelines she would rely on in sentencing 60-year-old Maxwell ranged from 15 1/2 to 19 1/2 years in prison, approximately half of the 30- to 55-year sentence sought. by federal prosecutors. Defense attorneys want a five-year term.
The New York verdict is the culmination of a lawsuit that details how the powerful couple flaunts their wealth and prominent connections to lure vulnerable 14-year-old girls and then exploit them.
The hearing was so long that Nathan requested a half-hour lunch break, unusual for such procedures. At one point, Maxwell will have a chance to speak, as will five women who say they were sexually abused by Epstein with Maxwell’s help.
Maxwell, wearing a blue prison uniform and white mask to comply with coronavirus rules, sat quietly for the first hour of the sentencing hearing as lawyers discussed the law. At least three of her siblings sat in a row behind her. Most of the others in the crowded courtroom were members of the media.
Several women who testified against Maxwell or made statements before sentencing were also in court. Two of them – Elizabeth Stein and Sarah Ransom – spoke to reporters outside.
“Today is a day I didn’t think would ever happen, so it’s a blessing for me. It’s true. And I prayed for that moment so hard and for so long, “Ransom said.
“It would be very justifiable to say my statements and make her in the room to hear them,” Stein said.
Prosecutors said Epstein, who committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial, had abused children hundreds of times in more than a decade and could not have done so without the help of Maxwell, his longtime companion and former girlfriend. In December, a jury convicted Maxwell of sexual trafficking, transporting a minor to engage in illegal sexual acts, and two counts of conspiracy.
“Maxwell’s behavior was shockingly predatory. She was a calculating, sophisticated and dangerous criminal who robbed vulnerable young girls and prepared them for sexual violence, prosecutors wrote in a court file.
Maxwell denies abusing anyone.
“Witnesses testified during the trial that Ms. Maxwell assisted in the abuse of Epstein, but Epstein has always been the central figure: Epstein was the brain, Epstein was the main abuser, and Epstein organized crimes for personal gratification,” defense lawyers wrote. application to the court.
Epstein and Maxwell’s associations with some of the world’s most famous people were not an important part of the process, but mentions of friends such as Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Britain’s Prince Andrew showed the couple using their relationship to impress their prey.
Over the past 17 years, dozens of women have accused Epstein of abuse. Many describe Maxwell as Madame, who hired them to give Epstein massages.
However, the trial revolved around accusations from only a handful of these women.
Four testify that they were abused as teenagers in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein’s mansion in Florida, New York, New Mexico and the Virgin Islands.
Three were identified in court with only their own names or aliases to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former UK model; and Carolyn, now a recovering mother. The fourth was Annie Farmer, who identified herself in court with her real name after speaking in public.
They described how Maxwell charmed them with conversations, gifts, and promises that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to help make their dreams come true.
Then, they testified, she made them do Epstein’s massages, which turned into sexual and played him normally.
Carolyn testified that she was one of several disadvantaged teenagers who lived near Epstein’s home in Florida in the early 2000s and accepted an offer to massage him in exchange for $ 100 bills in what prosecutors described. as a “pyramid of abuse.”
Maxwell made all the arrangements, Caroline told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time.
The charges against Epstein first surfaced publicly in 2005. He pleaded guilty to sex charges in Florida and spent 13 months in prison, much of it in a dismissal program as part of a deal criticized as lenient. He then had to register as a sex offender.
In the following years, many women sued Epstein for alleged violence. One, Virginia Juffre, claims that Epstein and Maxwell also pressured her into sexual encounters with other influential men, including Prince Andrew. All of these men dismissed the charges, and Giuffre eventually settled a case against Andrew out of court.
Federal prosecutors in New York have revived the case against Epstein after the Miami Herald stories in 2018 drew new attention to his crimes. He was arrested in 2019, but committed suicide a month later.
Eleven months after his death, Maxwell was arrested at a mansion in New Hampshire. A citizen of the United States, Britain and France, she has remained in federal prison in New York since then, as her lawyers have repeatedly criticized her treatment, saying she was even unfairly placed under surveillance for suicide days before her sentence. Prosecutors say the allegations about the prison are exaggerated and that Maxwell was treated better than the other prisoners.
Her lawyers also fought for her sentence to be overturned due to the jury’s misconduct. Days after the verdict, a juror gave media interviews in which he revealed that he had been sexually abused as a child – something he did not tell the court during the jury selection. Maxwell’s lawyers said she deserved a new trial. The judge disagreed.
At least eight women sent letters to the judge describing the sexual abuse they said they had suffered because they had met Maxwell and Epstein.
In letters to the judge, six of Maxwell’s seven living siblings asked for leniency. Maxwell’s co-prisoner also sent a letter describing how Maxwell had helped educate other prisoners over the past two years.
Anne Holve and Philip Maxwell, her older siblings, write that her relationship with Epstein began shortly after the death of their father in 1991, British newspaper mogul Robert Maxwell.
They said Robert Maxwell had subjected his daughter to “frequent rapid mood swings, great anger and rejection.”
“This has made her very vulnerable to abusive and powerful men who could take advantage of her innate good nature,” they wrote.
Prosecutors called Maxwell’s transfer of blame to Epstein “absurd and offensive.”
“Maxwell was an adult who made his own choice,” they wrote to the court. “She made the choice to exploit many underage girls. She chose to conspire with Epstein for years, working as partners in crime and causing devastating harm to vulnerable victims. It must be held accountable for its disruptive role in a large-scale scheme of child exploitation. “
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