Convicted sex-abuser and trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, the jet-setting party girl who procured girls for deceased Wall Street financier and rapist Jeffrey Epstein, will spend 20 years in federal prison.
Maxwell was sentenced on three of the five criminal charges for which a jury found her guilty on December 29 after a one-month trial. In vivid detail, Maxwell victims described the abuse they suffered not only at the hands of Epstein but also Maxwell.
The decade-long reign of sexual terror lasted from 1994 through about 2004. Epstein escaped prosecution when he supposedly committed suicide just after his arrest and indictment.
The Charges
Epstein-Maxwell global sex-trafficking operation spanned from New York to Florida to London, England. Such was the reach of the operation that even Prince Andrew was accused. In February, He settled a lawsuit with key Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.
Though she worked for Epstein and was his onetime main squeeze, Maxwell was no minor figure in the operation. In a lawsuit, a victim claimed Epstein and Maxwell threatened to feed her to alligators and kidnap her son if she went to the police.
Maxwell “assisted, facilitated, and participated in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims” the two abusers knew were under 18 years old, the Justice Department sentencing summary says:
The victims were as young as 14 years old when they were groomed and abused by MAXWELL and Epstein, both of whom knew that their victims were in fact minors. As a part and in furtherance of their scheme to abuse minor victims, MAXWELL and Epstein enticed and caused minor victims to travel to Epstein’s residences in different states, which MAXWELL knew and intended would result in their grooming for and subjection to sexual abuse.
Maxwell befriended victims by “asking them about their lives, their schools, and their families, and taking them to the movies or on shopping trips,” and “acclimated victims to Epstein’s conduct simply by being present for victim interactions with Epstein, which put victims at ease by providing the assurance and comfort of an adult woman who seemingly approved of Epstein’s behavior.”
Of course, Epstein and Maxwell indebted the victims to Epstein by showering them with gifts, paying for travel and education.
Yet Maxwell didn’t merely procure the victims. She groomed them and enthusiastically participated in the abuse. Maxwell “normalized and facilitated sexual abuse for a victim by discussing sexual topics, undressing in front of the victim, being present when the victim was undressed, and encouraging the victim to massage Epstein.”
Maxwell “was then present for certain sexual encounters between minor victims and Epstein, such as interactions where a minor victim was undressed, and ultimately was present for sex acts perpetrated by Epstein on minor victims,” DOJ continued:
That abuse included sexualized massages during which a minor victim was fully or partially nude, as well as group sexualized massages of Epstein involving a minor victim where MAXWELL was present. In some instances, MAXWELL participated in the sexual abuse of minor victims.
Ultimately minor victims were subjected to sexual abuse that included, among other things, the touching of a victim’s breasts or genitals, placing a sex toy such as a vibrator on a victim’s genitals, directing a victim to touch Epstein while he masturbated, and directing a victim to touch Epstein’s genitals.
Even after sentencing, Maxwell was unrepentant and refused to admit what she had done. “I am sorry for the pain that you’ve experienced,” Maxwell told the victims. “I hope my conviction … brings you closure.”
Counts And Arrest
A jury convicted Maxwell on five counts:
- sex trafficking conspiracy;
- sex trafficking of a minor;
- transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts;
- conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; and
- conspiracy to transport minors to participate in illegal sex acts.
The FBI caught and arrested Maxwell at a luxury hideaway in Bradford, New Hampshire. FBI agents were forced to breach a locked door to collar the fugitive, who hired British military personnel as security.
The judge denied bail because Maxwell, a French, British, and U.S. citizen, had the wealth and means to escape and hide from authorities.
Authorities have not arrested any of the men to whom Epstein and Maxwell trafficked the girls. Although he settled a lawsuit from Giuffre, Prince Andrew denied having sex with her.
