Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a New York judge for helping the late disgraced financier, Jeffrey Epstein, sexually abuse girls.
The term, handed down in the Manhattan federal court, means the 60-year-old former socialite will spend much of the rest of her life in jail.
The Oxford-educated daughter of the late British press baron Robert Maxwell was convicted late last year on five of six counts, the most serious for sex trafficking minors.
Her lawyers had argued for leniency, citing a traumatic childhood and claiming that Maxwell was being unfairly punished because Epstein escaped trial.
They had asked for a maximum of five years while prosecutors had called for between 30 and 55 years in jail.
In the end, judge Alison Nathan went with 20, the amount of time recommended by the US probation office.
During Maxwell’s high-profile trial in late 2021, prosecutors successfully proved that she was “the key” to Epstein’s scheme of enticing young girls to give him massages, during which he would sexually abuse them.
Two of Epstein’s victims, identified as “Jane” and “Carolyn,” testified that they were as young as 14 when Maxwell began grooming them.
Maxwell’s sentencing caps a dramatic fall for the former international jetsetter who grew up in wealth and privilege as a friend to royalty.
Her circle included Britain’s Prince Andrew, former US president and real estate baron Donald Trump and the Clinton family.
In February, Prince Andrew settled a sexual abuse lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre, who said she had been trafficked to the royal by Epstein and Maxwell.
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