June 28 2022 Manhattan, New York – — Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison, for helping the Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls, exploiting vulnerable girls as young as 14.
Prosecutors said Epstein sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade, they added that he could not have done so without the help of Maxwell, according to AP.
Epstein killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial in detention,
In December Maxwell was convicted on charges of sex trafficking, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts and two conspiracy charges.
Associated press reports that Maxwell addressed the court earlier today, voicing that she empathized with the survivors and hoped her punishment would bring them peace.
Four survivors at the sentencing described their sexual abuse.
“As you can see now, the mask is off. Our client Ghislaine Maxwell has been vilified, pilloried, and it left little room for her to be treated fairly, because even before she stepped forward into this courthouse, she was being tried and convicted in the court of public opinion”, said Maxwell’s attorney Bobbi Sternheim outside of a Manhattan Courthouse Tuesday afternoon.
Sternheim went on to mention future plans for Maxwell’s defense stating, “Ghislaine will appeal this case and we are confident that she will prevail on appeal.”
Sternheim briefly spoke of Jeffery Epstein saying “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.”
Kevin Maxwell, Ghislaine’s brother, said that she won’t give up on her legal battle, and that her family will stand behind her.
Eleven months after Epstein death, Maxwell was arrested at a New Hampshire estate, she was then jailed at New York City federal facility, most recently remaining on suicide watch.
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