Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years in jail for sex trafficking young girls

ok.co.uk:

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for luring young girls to massage rooms for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to molest.The 60-year-old looked straight ahead and showed no emotion as a judge in the Southern District of New York passed sentence in front of a packed public gallery.

Her accusers came face to face with her on Tuesday as several women read victim impact statements to the court – describing her as a “manipulative, cruel and merciless person.” Maxwell, who was described as “dangerous” by the prosecution during her three-week trial last year, helped entice vulnerable teenagers to Epstein’s various properties for him to sexually abuse between 1994 and 2004.

At the hearing on Tuesday, the socialite apologised to her victims, saying she hopes her sentence will allow them “peace and finality”.

Maxwell said meeting Epstein was the “greatest regret of my life” and that she wanted to “acknowledge the suffering” of her victims. “I know my association with Epstein will follow and and forever stain me,” she said addressing the court moments before her sentence was handed down. “It is the greatest regret of my life that I ever met Jeffrey Epstein.” Addressing her victims directly, she said: “To you, all the victims that came to today inside the court and outside…I am sorry for the pain you have experienced. “I hope my sentence… brings you closure… peace and finality.To help you put those experiences in a place that helps you move forward.” Maxwell said the knowledge of the effects of her crimes “tortures me every single day”, and that she hoped the sentence “brings this terrible chapter to an end and… help you travel from darkness into the light”.