Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection to a New York sex-trafficking case, The Guardian reports. Maxwell, who was accused and convicted of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of teenage girls, maintained her innocence throughout the trial’s duration.
According to CNN, the 60-year-old was convicted in December on five of six counts, including sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three related counts of conspiracy, The New York Times reports. Maxwell was acquitted on one charge of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.
One of the victims said that she traveled to Epstein’s Palm Beach home “over 100 times” when she was 14 to 18 years old. She also said Maxwell sexually abused her, groping her before she went to Epstein.
Another victim said Maxwell sexually abused her, giving her a nude massage when she was 16 years old at Epstein’s New Mexico estate.
Maxwell’s attorneys argued that the 60-year-old should receive “well below” the 20 years recommended by federal probation officials, describing a higher sentence as one more appropriate for Epstein himself and also as a “travesty of justice,” The Washington Post reports.
Prosecutors, on the other hand, were asking for a sentence of 30 to 55 years in prison, CNN reports.
During the hearing, Maxwell addressed the victims, BBC reports. She empathized with them, and shared that she hopes her prison sentence brings them “peace and finality.”
