New York, NY – Ghislaine Maxwell, the former British socialite and associate of Jeffrey Epstein, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on June 28, 2022, for her role in conspiring to sexually abuse underage girls. The sentencing hearing in New York City included a powerful victim impact statement from Virginia Giuffre, read aloud by her attorney, detailing the profound and lasting trauma inflicted by Maxwell and Epstein. Maxwell was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $750,000 fine.
Giuffre's statement directly addressed Maxwell, recounting how she was first spotted at Mar-a-Lago in Florida in 2000 at the age of 16. "Twenty-two years ago, in the summer of 2000, you spotted me at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, and you made a choice: You chose to follow me and procure me for Epstein," Giuffre's attorney read in court. She detailed the immediate and severe abuse that followed, stating, "Just hours later, you and he abused me together for the first time. Together you damaged me physically, mentally, sexually and emotionally."
The statement emphasized Maxwell's pivotal role in the abuse, asserting, "Without question, Jeffrey Epstein was a terrible pedophile, but I never would have met Jeffrey Epstein if not for you." Giuffre described Maxwell as a "wolf in sheep’s clothing" who used her "femininity to betray us and you led us all through it," changing the course of their lives forever. She condemned Maxwell's complicity, noting, "You could have put an end to the rapes, the molestation, the sickening manipulation that you arranged, witnessed, and even took part in."
Giuffre vividly conveyed the ongoing suffering caused by Maxwell's actions, including persistent nightmares and difficulty trusting others. "The pain you have caused me is almost indescribable," the statement continued, adding, "Nightmares wake me at all hours. In those dreams, I relive the awful things that you and others did to me and the things that you forced me to do." Giuffre concluded her statement with a strong call for justice, declaring, "Ghislaine, you deserve to spend the rest of your life in prison in a jail cell. You deserve to be trapped in a cage forever just like you trapped your victims."
Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 on five of six counts, including sex trafficking of a minor. Her legal team has since pursued appeals, with a U.S. appeals court upholding her conviction in September 2024. Maxwell's lawyers have indicated their intention to challenge this ruling at the U U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that a prior non-prosecution agreement with Epstein should have shielded her from prosecution. She is currently serving her sentence at a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida.