Ghislaine Maxwell jailed for 20 years for trafficking underage girls with Jeffrey Epstein

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for trafficking underage girls. The British socialite was convicted of five charges in December following a month-long trial for recruiting and grooming four girls to have sexual encounters with her then boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

Judge Nathan summarised the cases of several of the victims before imposing a 20-year sentence on the 60-year-old, reports the Mirror.

The judge said Maxwell and Epstein used a "playbook" over the years, resulting in "incalculable" damage to their victims.She said: "The sentence I impose must reflect the gravity of Ms Maxwell's conduct.“A substantial sentence will send an unmistakable message that those who engage in the sexual abuse and trafficking of underage victims will be held accountable by the law.“The rule of law demands, and this court agrees, that whether you are rich or powerful or entirely unknown, nobody is above the law."Judge Nathan added: “It is important to emphasise that although Epstein was central to this criminal scheme, Ms Maxwell is not being punished in place of Epstein or as a proxy for Epstein."She called the crimes "heinous and predatory.”Before she was led away, Judge Nathan told Maxwell: "A sentence of 240 months is sufficient and no graver than necessary."And now US Circuit Judge Alison Nathan has sentenced Maxwell at the hearing which started at 4pm BST in Manhattan federal court.She entered the courtroom on Tuesday draped in a navy jail uniform with shackles around her ankles and stood motionless as the judge took her spot on the bench.And Maxwell spoke in court, calling Epstein a "manipulative, cunning and controlling man" who fooled everyone in his orbit, and said she was "sorry"