Tuesday 28 June 2022 07:54 PM Ghislaine Maxwell is sentenced to 20 years in prison trends now

Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after telling the court meeting Jeffrey Epstein was the 'biggest regret of my life' and apologizing to her victims 'for the pain that you have experienced.'

Judge Alison Nathan handed down the 240-month sentence, followed by five years supervised release in Manhattan federal court. The judge imposed a fine of $750,000.

Before the sentencing Maxwell, appearing in a blue prison uniform with shackles around her ankles, addressed the court and said she was 'fooled' by Epstein. 

'I realize I have been convicted of assisting Jeffrey Epstein to commit these crimes,' she said. 'My association with Epstein will permanently stain me. It is the biggest regret of my life that I ever met him.' 

She added that Epstein 'fooled all of those in his orbit.'

Before she spoke, Maxwell was forced to face her sex trafficking victims as they gave dramatic testimony. 

Annie Farmer, Sarah Ransome, Elizabeth Stein and one woman known only as Kate read their heartbreaking victim impact statements where they pleaded for the longest possible sentence and demanded Maxwell spend the rest of her life in prison.  

'I was nothing more than a sex toy with a heartbeat and soul used to entertain Epstein, Maxwell and others,' Ransome said, sharing photos of herself in a hospital bed after she tried to kill herself when the trauma of the sexual abuse became unbearable. 

Stein revealed she had to have an abortion after getting raped 'countless times,' and Kate said Maxwell's 'lack of remorse and her blatant refusal to take responsibility is her final insult. She is not sorry and she will do it again.'

During the testimony Maxwell remained stoic and avoided her victims' eyes. Farmer fought back tears as she asked the judge to take into account the 'ongoing suffering of the many women she abused and exploited.'

Prosecutors had asked Judge Nathan to impose a sentence of at least 30 years because of Maxwell's 'utter lack of remorse,' while Maxwell claimed she should serve just four years as she is not a danger to the public.

The sentencing marks the end of a decades-long fight for justice by victims of Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.

After Epstein hanged himself while awaiting trial in 2019, attention turned to Maxwell who was arrested a year later and found guilty in December following her sensational trial.

She has said she will appeal her conviction and claims that she is being made a 'scapegoat' for Epstein.

Four women gave evidence against Maxwell during her weeks-long trial: a victim known as 'Jane', Annie Farmer, Kate and another woman called Carolyn.

Over three weeks, the jury heard how Maxwell 'served up' underage girls for Epstein and relished her role as the 'Lady of the House' at his mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.

Between 1994 and 2004 Maxwell was Epstein's 'right hand' and paid $200 for sexualized massages or even took part in the abuse.

The victims, some as young as 14, were given a similar amount of money if they brought friends to Epstein, the jury was told.

During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epstein's homes - a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case. 

A housekeeper testified he was expected to be 'blind, deaf and dumb' about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons.

Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries - Britain's Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump - who flew on Epstein's private jets.

Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a 'black book' that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading 'massages'.

There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell.

Prosecutors produced a 58-page household manual covering every single aspect of running the house in Palm Beach that they indicated Maxwell had written. There were dozens of checklists for each area of the house, instructions on when to replace the toothpaste and what brands of creams to buy.

One instruction to all household staff that was seized on by the prosecution read: 'You see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing'.

But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized

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