U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan will sentence the disgraced socialite Ghislaine Maxwell to a prison term on Tuesday, doling out the most concrete punishment yet over the sex-trafficking ring that Maxwell helped financier Jeffrey Epstein run for a decade, exploiting girls as young as 14.
Several of those girls, now adults, testified during the trial, bravely pulling the curtain back on years of abuse they suffered after Maxwell and Epstein tugged them into their orbit using the allure of wealth and their connections to powerful people such as Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.
The women will be heard again on Tuesday. Eight women sent the court victim impact statements — unredacted, over Maxwell’s objections — describing the long-lasting effects of Maxwell’s crimes. Nathan ruled that six of the victims were also free to speak at the hearing if they chose to.
Maxwell, 60, was convicted in December on five of six counts against her, including sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three related counts of conspiracy. She was acquitted on one charge of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.
Prosecutors have asked the judge to sentence Maxwell to 30 to 55 years in prison, which is on par with federal sentencing guidelines, though the probation department recommended 20 years.
Maxwell’s attorneys requested a more lenient sentence of between 4.25 and 5.25 years in prison, calling it a “travesty of justice” if Maxwell faces a sentence more appropriate for Epstein himself.