Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who was found guilty of procuring and grooming young women for billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. In December 2021 she was convicted of sex trafficking in a Manhattan court.
After a brief manhunt Maxwell was arrested by the FBI in July 2020. She was sometimes Epstein’s girlfriend, sometimes his confidante, and, by many survivors’ accounts, his closest associate who helped him manipulate and exploit teenage girls.
According to reporters in the courtroom, Maxwell addressed victims before her sentence was read but also indicated an intent to appeal (the reporter did not specify, and may not know, whether the appeal will be over the verdict, the sentencing, or something else). “It is the biggest regret of my life that I ever met [Jeffrey Epstein],” she said.
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Per BuzzFeed, federal prosecutors recommended a sentence of “at least” 30 years in prison, while some victims called for a life sentence. Judge Alison J. Nathan explained that her sentence of 20 years was based on Maxwell’s crimes being “heinous and predatory” and the belief that she should not be “punished in place of Epstein or as a proxy for Epstein.”
Back in 2019, five survivors spoke to about their feelings on this very topic including the possibility of consequences for Maxwell and others. Teresa Helm said at the time, “I think people need to stop thinking that they can just do it and get away with it. That’s such a big problem. They do it because they can. Because society has enabled it. Our culture has enabled it, you know? Especially for people who have money and power. I think that’s what it boils down to.”
Added Sarah Ransome, “I want to see, actually, people go to jail. I want [them] in prison. That’s what I want. Until I get to do those little visits there to prison, wherever [the perpetrators] are, so I can be like, ‘Surprise! Hello.’ Because these people? They’re still a danger to the public. I mean, they’re still walking the street. You know, I don’t want recognition. I don’t want a pat on the back. I don’t want to ‘be heard.’ I want something.”
