A judge has thrown the book at Ghislaine Maxwell today, sentencing her to 20 years in prison for recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends.
After refusing to cooperate with prosecutors and name Epstein’s accomplices, the judge dropped the hammer on 60-year-old Maxwell for her sex trafficking conviction.
Elizabeth Stein, a victim of Epstein and Maxwell read a powerful statement to the court: “In one instance, they took me to Florida, insisted that I stay longer than planned which caused me to miss work and led to my being fired.
“Seizing on this new vulnerability, they began trafficking me to their friends.
“By that time, I was trapped.
“I was assaulted, raped, and trafficked countless times in New York and Florida during a three-year period.
“At one point I became pregnant (by whom I am unsure) and aborted the baby.
“Things happened that were so traumatizing that to this day I’m unable to speak about them; I don’t even have the vocabulary to describe them.”
“When I arrived, the hotel concierge told me Ms. Maxwell was in the bar and wanted me to meet someone. It was Jeffrey Epstein.
“That night in the hotel was the first of many times they sexually assaulted me.
“In the most literal sense of the word, Epstein and Maxwell terrified me.
“They told me that if I told anyone, nobody would believe me and if they did, they would kill me and the people closest to me.
“I believed them. I was once bright, fun, outgoing, and kind.
“I loved life and people genuinely enjoyed being around me.
“After meeting Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, it felt like someone shut off the lights to my soul.”
Victim Sarah Ransome said:
“Over the next seven to eight months, I became, against my will, nothing more than a human sex toy with a heartbeat and soul for the entertainment of Epstein, Maxwell, and others.
“Sometimes I was subjected to sexual predation multiple times per day, both in his New York mansion and on his private island St. Little James in the US Virgin Islands.
“On one visit to the island, the sexual demands, degradation, and humiliation became so horrific that I tried to escape by attempting to jump off a cliff into shark-infested waters, but was caught by Maxwell and company moments before jumping.
“At the time, the extremely risky escape seemed more appealing than being raped one more time.”
BREAKING | NBC News: Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in sexually abusing and sex trafficking young girls for and with Jeffrey Epstein.
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) June 28, 2022
Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for her crimes. It’s time to release her client list.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 28, 2022
