NEW YORK, June 28 (Reuters) – Gislane Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday for aiding sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abusing teenage girls in what a judge called a “horrific scheme” that caused “incalculable” damage. the victims.
The 60-year-old British socialist was convicted in December on five charges, including sex trafficking of minors, of recruiting and preparing four girls for sexual intercourse with Epstein, then her boyfriend, between 1994 and 2004.
Speaking during a sentencing hearing in Manhattan federal court before learning the verdict, Maxwell called Epstein a “manipulative, cunning and controlling man” who misled everyone in his orbit. She said she was “sorry” for the pain his victims felt.
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“The biggest regret in my life is that I once met Jeffrey Epstein,” Maxwell said.
The one-month trial against Maxwell at the end of 2021 was widely seen as a retribution that Epstein – who committed suicide in a Manhattan prison cell in 2019 at the age of 66 while waiting for his own sexual trafficking trial – had never had .
This was one of the most famous cases after the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to talk about sexual violence, often at the hands of rich and influential people. Read more
In sentencing, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan said Maxwell did not appear to express remorse or take responsibility.
“Maxwell has been directly and repeatedly involved for many years in a horrific scheme to lure, transport and traffic underage girls, some as young as 14, for sexual abuse by and with Jeffrey Epstein,” Nathan said. The damage done to these young girls was incalculable.
Bobby Sternheim, Maxwell’s lawyer, said Maxwell would appeal, arguing that public scrutiny of the case before the trial “leaves little room for her to be treated fairly”.
Gislane Maxwell appeared via video link during her indictment hearing in the Manhattan Federal Court, in the Manhattan neighborhood of New York, New York, USA, on July 14, 2020 in this sketch in the courtroom. REUTERS / Jane Rosenberg
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“We all know that the man who was to be convicted today escaped responsibility, avoided his victims, avoided taking their pain and receiving the punishment he really deserved,” Sternheim told reporters.
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Maxwell’s lawyers offered her to serve no more than 5-1 / 4 years, claiming that she was a scapegoat for Epstein’s crimes. Last week, prosecutors proposed she serve between 30 and 55 years in prison, but said on Tuesday that the 20-year sentence would hold Maxwell responsible for “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,” Damien Williams, a senior federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said in a statement.
Nathan said Maxwell’s statements showed a “model of guilt diversion.”
“Although Epstein, of course, was central to this criminal scheme, Ms. Maxwell was not punished in place of Epstein or as Epstein’s attorney,” Nathan said. “Ms. Maxwell assisted in the abuse of several underage girls.”
In often emotional and overt testimony during the trial, Annie Farmer, a woman known as Kate, and two other women testified that Maxwell, who was found guilty on five charges, was a central figure in Epstein’s harassment. Read more
During Tuesday’s hearing, Farmer, who is now a psychologist, said her attempt to be exploited by Maxwell “led to significant embarrassment,” which sometimes made her feel as if she wanted to “disappear.”
Kate said she was proud to help hold Maxwell accountable.
“Today I can look at Gislane and tell her that I have become what I am today, despite her and her efforts to make me feel powerless and insignificant, and I will throw that empowerment on my daughter,” Kate said.
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Report by Luke Cohen and Brendan Pearson in New York; Edited by Mark Porter, Noelin Walder and Marguerite Choi
Our standards: Thomson Reuters’ principles of trust.
Brendan Pearson
Thomson Reuters
Brendan Pearson reports on product liability litigation and all areas of healthcare legislation. You can contact him at brendan.pierson@thomsonreuters.com.
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