Ghislaine Maxwell
Epstein accomplice to appeal after conviction
Ghislaine Maxwell
© New York Daily News / Andrew Savulich / Picture Alliance
Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. The sentence is well in excess of what her attorneys demanded. Maxwell is now contesting that.
Judge Alison J. Nathan has delivered her verdict in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, who has been incarcerated for two years. The accomplice of the dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, † 66, has to go to prison for her crimes for 20 years, according to the sentence.
Ghislaine Maxwell: 20 years in prison and maximum fine
“A sentence of 240 months is sufficient and no stricter than necessary,” quoted the New York Times of their verdict. The judge also imposed a fine of $750,000 — the maximum fine, according to the report.
She justified the sentence with the words: “The punishment that I pronounce must reflect the seriousness of Ms. Maxwell’s actions.” Nathan had previously described said actions as “abominable and predatory”. Maxwell “worked with Epstein to select young victims who were vulnerable”.
Nathan reiterated, “It is important to emphasize that while Epstein was the central figure in this criminal activity, Ms. Maxwell is not being prosecuted in Epstein’s stead or as a placeholder for Epstein.” Maxwell’s criminal defense lawyers have repeatedly accused the public prosecutor’s office of pillorying them as a scapegoat for Epstein’s actions because he can no longer be held accountable.
Well below the maximum penalty
Maxwell’s attorneys had asked for a maximum sentence of four to five years in prison. The public prosecutor’s office demanded 30 to 55 years, which would have been the maximum sentence. Nathan’s verdict can therefore be understood as a compromise between the two demands. Having been in jail since 2020 on fugitive charges, Maxwell can hope to be released in her late 70s. If the prosecutor had demanded it, it would have been highly likely that she would have spent the rest of her life behind bars.
Lawyers appeal
Now Ghislaine Maxwell wants to take action against her sentence of 20 years in prison. Court documents obtained by the German Press Agency in New York on Thursday, July 7, 2022 show that their lawyers have appealed. The arguments for the appeal are not mentioned in the documents. However, Maxwell’s lawyers have repeatedly spoken of a jury member who may be biased, which is why the process must be reopened.
Maxwell was found guilty on five out of six charges in December last year. Prosecutors accused Maxwell of procuring underage victims for Epstein’s sex ring as his right-hand man. The British rejected the allegations and refrained from making a statement at the time.
Source used: nytimes.com, DPA