NEW YORK (AP) – Ghislaine Maxwell, the airplane’s socialite who previously joined royal family members, presidents and billionaires, was taken Tuesday to a New York courtroom in a prison uniform and his ankles chained to await his conviction to help financier Jeffrey. Epstein sexually abuses underage girls.
The sentence in New York is the culmination of a trial detailing how the powerful couple flaunted their outstanding wealth and connections to lure vulnerable girls as young as 14 and then exploit them.
The hearing is likely to be lengthy, as attorneys are arguing over the length of the sentence that federal sentencing guidelines should recommend along with other aspects of the law. At some 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 a white mask to comply with the coronavirus rules, sat in silence for the first hour of the sentencing hearing while lawyers debated the law. At least three of her brothers sat in a row behind her. Most of the others in the packed room were members of the media.
Several women who testified against Maxwell or issued statements before sentencing were also in court. Two of them, Elizabeth Stein and Sarah Ransome, spoke to reporters outside.
“Today is a day I never thought would ever happen, so for me it’s a blessing. It really is. And I’ve been praying for this moment so hard and for so long,” Ransome said.
“It will be very demanding to say my statements and have her in the room to hear it,” Stein said.
Prosecutors said Epstein, who committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial, sexually abused children hundreds of times for more than a decade, and that he could not have done so without the help of Maxwell, his partner. long time and girlfriend.
“Maxwell’s behavior was surprisingly predatory. She was a calculating, sophisticated and dangerous criminal who took advantage of vulnerable young girls and prepared them for sexual abuse,” prosecutors wrote in a court document.
In December, a jury convicted Maxwell of sex trafficking, transporting a minor to engage in illegal sexual acts and two conspiracy charges. Prosecutors say he deserves between 30 and 55 years in prison. The Probation Department has recommended a 20-year term.
Maxwell, 60, has denied abusing anyone. His attorneys have asked U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan to impose a sentence of no more than five years.
“Witnesses at the trial testified about Ms Maxwell’s facilitation of Epstein’s abuse, but Epstein was always the central figure: Epstein was the mastermind, Epstein was the main abuser and Epstein orchestrated the crimes for to their personal gratification, ”they wrote in court. archiving.
Epstein and Maxwell’s associations with some of the world’s most famous people were not a prominent part of the trial, but mentions of friends such as Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and British Prince Andrew showed how the couple exploited the your connections to impress your prey.
For the past 17 years, dozens of women have accused Epstein of abusing him. Many described Maxwell as the lady who recruited them to massage Epstein.
The trial, however, revolved around the accusations of a handful of these women.
Four testified that they were abused as teenagers in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein’s mansions in Florida, New York, New Mexico, and the Virgin Islands.
Three were identified in court only by their name or pseudonym to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former UK model; and Carolyn, now a mother recovering from drug addiction. The fourth was Annie Farmer, who identified herself in court by her real name after speaking publicly.
They described how Maxwell loved them with conversations and gifts and promises that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to help fulfill his dreams.
Then, they stated, she took them to massage Epstein who became sexual and did it normally.
Carolyn testified that he was one of several underprivileged teenagers living near Epstein’s home in Florida in the early 2000s and accepted an offer to massage him in exchange for $ 100 bills in which prosecutors went describe it as “a pyramid of abuse.”
Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time.
The charges against Epstein first appeared publicly in 2005. He pleaded guilty to sexual charges in Florida and served 13 months in prison, much of them in a labor release program as part of a agreement criticized as lenient. He was then asked to register as a sex offender.
In the following years, many women sued Epstein for alleged abuse. One of them, Virginia Giuffre, claimed that Epstein and Maxwell had also pressured her to have sex with other powerful men, including Prince Andrew. All of these men denied the allegations and Giuffre finally settled a lawsuit against Andrew out of court.
New York federal prosecutors revived the case against Epstein after stories from the Miami Herald in 2018 turned a new attention to his crimes. He was arrested in 2019, but committed suicide a month later.
Eleven months after his death, Maxwell was arrested on a New Hampshire estate. A U.S., British and French citizen has remained in a New York City federal prison since then, while her lawyers have repeatedly criticized her treatment, saying she was even unfairly placed under suicide surveillance days earlier. of the sentence. Prosecutors say the allegations about the prison are exaggerated and that Maxwell has been treated better than other inmates.
His lawyers also fought for his sentence to be overturned for jury misconduct.
Days after the verdict, a member of the jury gave interviews to the media in which he revealed that he had been sexually abused as a child, something he had not told the court during the jury selection. Maxwell’s lawyers said he deserved a new trial. A judge disagreed.
At least eight women have sent letters to the judge describing the sexual abuse they said they suffered because they met Maxwell and Epstein.
In letters to the judge, six of Maxwell’s seven living brothers asked for clemency. Maxwell’s fellow inmate also sent a letter describing how Maxwell has helped educate other inmates over the past two years.
Anne Holve and Philip Maxwell, her older brothers, wrote that their relationship with Epstein began shortly after the 1991 death of their father, the British newspaper mogul Robert Maxwell.
They said Robert Maxwell had subjected his daughter to “frequent rapid mood swings, great anger and rejection.”
“This made her very vulnerable to abusive and powerful men who could take advantage of her innate good nature,” they wrote.
Prosecutors called the transfer of Maxwell’s fault to Epstein “absurd and offensive.”
“Maxwell was an adult who made her own decisions,” they wrote in court. “He chose to sexually exploit numerous underage girls. He decided to conspire with Epstein for years, working as partners in the crime and causing devastating damage to vulnerable victims. He should be responsible for his disturbing role in an extensive scheme. child exploitation “.