US prosecutors have stated in advance of a sentencing hearing that Ghislaine Maxwell should serve a minimum of 30 years in jail for her role in the sexual abuse of underage females.
From 1994 through 2004, the 60-year-old was convicted of soliciting adolescent females for US millionaire Jeffrey Epstein to sexually assault.
In recent court documents, the British socialite’s behavior was described as “shockingly predatory” and her offenses as “monstrous.”
Maxwell was found guilty in December of recruiting underage girls for US financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually assault between 1994 and 2004; the 60-year-old will be sentenced on Tuesday.
Before her arrest in July 2020, her attorneys suggested she should serve no more than four or five years in prison and that she had been subjected to harsh and punishing prison circumstances.
Maxwell, according to her attorneys, has received death threats while incarcerated, and her harsh surroundings have caused her to lose hair and weight.
Prosecutors, however, stated in their recommendations to the judge that bad confinement conditions were not grounds for a lower sentence, adding that she had “enjoyed extraordinary benefits as a high-profile detainee.”
They remarked, “The transition from being served on hand and foot to jail is surprising and unpleasant.”
According to federal sentencing standards, Maxwell should serve between thirty and fifty-five years in prison.
Prosecutors wrote: “As part of a terrible partnership with Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell identified, groomed, and assaulted several victims, all while enjoying an unparalleled life of wealth and privilege.
“Maxwell left her victims with permanent emotional and psychological trauma in her wake.” This damage cannot be undone, but it can be taken into consideration when determining an appropriate punishment for Maxwell’s actions.”
In addition, the judge was advised to consider her “complete lack of remorse,” and the paper stated, “Instead of demonstrating even a hint of acceptance of guilt, the defendant desperately tries to place the blame elsewhere.”
Maxwell’s attorneys contended that she was being used as a scapegoat for Epstein’s misdeeds, but prosecutors dismissed this as “absurd and offensive.”
Responding that she was an adult who made her own decisions, they replied, “She chose to sexually exploit several minors.” She chose to collaborate with Epstein for years, acting as criminal partners and causing catastrophic harm to vulnerable people.”
Epstein committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 at the age of 66 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking allegations.
Four women testified that the socialite was a pivotal character in Epstein’s years of abuse in testimony that was often forceful and explicit. The trial was largely viewed as the reckoning Epstein never received.
