For years, Ghislaine Maxwell has been the accomplice of businessman Jeffrey Epstein, who is building a girl sexual abuse ring. The confidant of the dead US multimillionaire was found guilty last year, now the sentence will follow.
A court in New York has sentenced Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell to a long prison term for sex crimes. Judge Alison Nathan said the 60-year-old had to serve 20 years in prison for trafficking minors for abuse, among other things. Prosecutors had asked for 30 to 55 years in prison.
Maxwell was considered the right-hand man of Jeffrey Epstein, a businessman who was networked to the highest circles and played a central role in establishing a ring for the sexual abuse of girls. Maxwell had announced that he would appeal. The trial attracted global attention because many saw it as a proxy trial after Epstein’s death. According to official information, he killed himself in his prison cell in the summer of 2019.
For decades, numerous minors were allegedly abused at Epstein’s estates in New York, Florida, Santa Fe and the Virgin Islands. The case also made waves in the United States because the entrepreneur was known to celebrities such as ex-Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, billionaire Bill Gates and British Prince Andrew. A previous indictment against him resulted in a deal that was very advantageous for Epstein. By doing so, at the latest, he has become a symbol of a social elite that can get away with crimes.
According to the indictment, Maxwell’s role in the systematic abuse by Epstein was to gain the trust of girls and bring them to their former partner – often for so-called massages. A few times Maxwell was even present during attacks. She also built up a “culture of silence” to keep the crimes secret. According to the indictment, she did this to maintain her own life of luxury with Epstein.
Maxwell is the daughter of legendary British publisher Robert Maxwell (1923-1991) and came to New York in the early 1990s. There she met Epstein at one of the numerous celebrity parties and was temporarily in a relationship with him. Those close to Epstein described her role in his life as a mix of employee and best friend.
