Ghislaine Maxwell could be sentenced to spend the rest of her life behind bars when she is sentenced on Tuesday for helping pedophile Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse young girls, and some of her accusers say she deserves to be “trapped in a cage forever.”
Seven of Maxwell’s accusers entered pre-hearing statements detailing the horrors they say the disgraced British socialite inflicted on them, and some of the women will be in federal court in Manhattan when she learns of their fate.
Prosecutors have asked US District Judge Alison Nathan to slap Maxwell with between 30 and 55 years in prison, which could be a life sentence for the 60-year-old convicted sex trafficker.
“As part of a disturbing agreement with Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell identified, groomed, and abused multiple victims, while enjoying a life of extraordinary luxury and privilege,” prosecutors wrote.
“In his wake, Maxwell left his victims permanently scarred with emotional and psychological injuries,” they said. “That damage can never be undone, but it can be explained by crafting a just sentence for Maxwell’s crimes.”
Meanwhile, Maxwell’s defense attorneys have pleaded for leniency, saying he should get no more than four or five years, while parole officials have recommended 20.
The Oxford-educated heiress, who has been held in a federal jail since her arrest in July 2020, was convicted in December of sex trafficking and other crimes after a month-long trial.
Prosecutors convinced jurors that Maxwell was a “sophisticated predator” who exploited vulnerable girls and set them up to be abused by pedophile financier Epstein over a period of time.
At least three accusers who have come forward have been approved to speak at sentencing, including Virginia Giuffre, who has long accused Maxwell and Epstein of sex-trafficking her to Britain’s Prince Andrew. Two others, Annie Farmer and “Kate,” a former model, testified at Maxwell’s trial.
“Ghislaine, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, you used your femininity to betray us and guided us through it all,” Giuffre wrote in her statement.
“You could have put an end to the violations, the abuses, the disgusting manipulations that you organized, witnessed and even participated in. You could have called the authorities and reported that you were part of something horrible,” he continued. “Ghislaine, you deserve to spend the rest of your life in a jail cell. You deserve to be trapped in a cage forever, just like you trapped your victims.”
Harriett Jagger, a wealthy former fashion executive for Vogue and Tatler magazines, will be the only friend to vouch for Maxwell in court, according to reports. A woman locked up with Maxwell at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center sent a letter of support to the court, calling her “kind and genuine.”
Maxwell has been on suicide watch since Friday and has been unable to “adequately prepare” for the hearing because prison officials abruptly placed her in solitary confinement, her attorneys said, adding that their client is not actually suicidal.
Once he got used to the good life, Maxwell complained about the conditions in the prison and claimed that his life had been threatened during his nearly two-year stay there.
Federal prosecutors have refuted those claims, calling his complaints about conditions at the lockdown “blatant lies” in court documents.
In their damning sentencing memorandum, the feds said Maxwell played a “critical role in the horrific sexual abuse of multiple teenagers” between 1994 and 2004.
Maxwell’s lawyers have argued that she is being scapegoated for the government’s failure to prosecute Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Sara Ransome, a former Epstein sex slave who tried to swim in shark-infested waters to escape their clutches, said Maxwell deserves to die in prison.
“Maxwell is today the same woman I knew nearly 20 years ago, incapable of common human compassion or decency,” she wrote in a court statement. “Because of her wealth, social status and connections, she believes herself above reproach and above the law.”
Ransome’s statement also included nine images of her in hospital following two separate suicide attempts. She said that she tried to take her own life after Epstein, Maxwell and others used her as a “sex toy.”
“To Ghislaine I say: ‘You destroyed me in unfathomable ways. But [what] You did not break my spirit, nor do you quench my inner flame that now burns hotter than ever!” Ransome wrote.
Another Epstein accuser, Maria Farmer, Annie’s sister, said she still fears Maxwell, whom she called “dangerous and devious.”
“I never feel safe outside as a result of the massive trauma of being held captive… His threats have never stopped thinking and I think he will hurt me if he ever finds a way.”
Juliette Bryant, who said she was raped on Epstein’s private island three times a day, spoke out in a court statement and called for Maxwell to get the maximum sentence.
“Simply put, Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster,” she wrote.
Reference-nypost.com