According to prosecutors, Ghislaine Maxwell must serve at least 30 years in prison for her ‘monstrous’ crimes | US News
Ghislaine Maxwell will serve at least 30 years in prison for her role in the sexual abuse of underage girls, US prosecutors said ahead of the sentencing hearing.
In new court filings, the British social media site’s behavior was described as “incredibly predatory” – and her crimes were deemed “monstrous”.
Maxwell was sentenced in December about recruiting teenage girls for US financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse him between 1994 and 2004 – and a judge will sentence the 60-year-old man next Tuesday.
Her attorneys had previously argued that she should not be in prison for more than four or five yearsand claims she has faced harsh prison conditions and punishment since her arrest in July 2020.
Representatives for Maxwell allege that she received death threats while behind bars, with the harsh environment causing her hair loss and weight loss.
However, giving their recommendations to the judge, prosecutors said that complaints about poor detention conditions gave no reason to have a lighter sentence – adding that she had ” enjoys remarkable privileges as a senior prisoner”.
They wrote: “Going from being waited on by hand and foot to being detained is certainly a shocking and upsetting experience.”
Federal sentencing guidelines dictate that Maxwell will serve between 30 and 55 years in prison.
“As part of a disturbing settlement with Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell identified, groomed and abused multiple victims, while she enjoyed a life of luxury and privilege,” prosecutors wrote.
“After regaining consciousness, Maxwell left her victim with a permanent scar with emotional and psychological damage. That damage can never be undone, but it can be reckoned with. in creating a just sentence for Maxwell’s crimes.”
Ghislaine Maxwell found guilty of recruiting underage schoolgirls for sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein
The judge was also asked to consider her “utter lack of remorse”, and the document added: “Instead of displaying even a sign of accepting responsibility, the defendant made a desperate attempt to blame anywhere else she can.”
Maxwell’s attorneys argued that she was being made a scapegoat for Epstein’s crimes, but this was dismissed by prosecutors as “absurd and offensive”.
Countering that she was an adult making her own choices, they wrote: “She chose to sexually exploit many underage girls.”
Epstein committed suicide in 2019, aged 66, in a Manhattan cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Maxwell’s trial is seen by many as the verdict Epstein never had – and in often forceful and clear testimony, four women say the man was a central figure in his years of abuse. ta.
