Ghislaine Maxwell's victims BLAST socialite after her court apology: 'Actions speak louder than words'
Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of helping to recruit young girls to be abused by her long-time associate Jeffrey Epstein, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking. The 60-year-old offender apologized to the victims and said, “It is my sincerest wish to all those in this courtroom that this day brings a terrible chapter to an end.”
Maxwell, who also has been fined $750,000 after normalizing abusive sexual conduct around victims as young as 14, arrived for the hearing wearing a prison-issued uniform as she made her way in the courtroom in the Southern District of New York. As per reports, just before the British socialite was sentenced, several of her victims provided statements in court. The victims who addressed Judge Alison Nathan described the disturbing abuse at the hands of Maxwell and her former boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein and how the abuse still haunts them.
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Ghislaine Maxwell's apology
Speaking to the court for the first time other than brief statements, Maxwell said she "empathized deeply with all the victims in this case". She said, "My relationship with Epstein will permanently stain me" and "it is the greatest regret of my life that I ever met Jeffrey Epstein". She further added, "I believe Jeffrey Epstein fooled all of those in his orbit. His victims considered him a mentor, friend, lover. Jeffrey Epstein should have stood before you. In 2005. In 2009. And again in 2019. But today it is for me to be sentenced."
As she addressed her victims, she apologized by saying, “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 some measure of peace and helps you put those experiences of so many years ago in a place that allows you to look forward and not back.”
'Actions speak louder than words'
However, her words didn't help the victims to erase the trauma. NY Post quoted one of her victims Sarah Ramsome saying, “I wish she was sorry when she was busy forcing me into a room to be raped. She should have been sorry then. As a matter of fact, there shouldn’t even be an apology. Rape is rape."
She added, “To force someone into a room to be raped – there’s not enough sorrys in the world. ‘I am sorry’ doesn’t cut it. And as far as I’m concerned actions speak louder than words.”
Elizabeth Stein, another accuser who was lured into Maxwell and Epstein’s orbit as a college senior, said she had been unnerved when she heard Maxwell’s voice in the courtroom. She told, “I kept reminding myself [Maxwell] was in front of me in shackles being sentenced and Sarah and I was were there sitting together free."