Shackled Ghislaine Maxwell sipped coffee and refused to look at her victims as they burst into tears while recounting abuse – and the stone-faced sex trafficker had NO reaction when she was handed down 20-year sentence

• Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, entered the court Tuesday with her ankles shackled and wearing a light blue prison uniform 
• Maxwell refused to meet the gaze of her victims even when they were reading their powerful victim impact statements
• Sarah Ransome repeatedly looked over at her and burst into tears but Maxwell calmly sipped her coffee
• When Annie Farmer began crying while reading her statement, Maxwell refused to meet her gaze as well
• Judge Alison Nathan asked Maxwell to stand to read out the sentence and she showed no reaction as she was told she would serve 20 years in jail 

A shackled, somber Ghislaine Maxwell refused to meet the stares of her victims as she entered Manhattan federal court earlier in the day to learn her fate.

Maxwell, 60, entered the court wearing a light blue prison uniform with a long sleeved white t-shirt underneath it.

Her ankles were shackled together and she was wearing white sneakers.

Her sisters Isabel Maxwell and brother Kevin sat in the front row during the hearing and two rows behind them were her victims and their attorneys.

Maxwell refused to meet the gaze of her victims even when they were reading their victim impact statements.

In the case of Sarah Ransome she repeatedly looked over at her and burst into tears but Maxwell calmly sipped her coffee.

When Annie Farmer began crying while reading her statement, Maxwell refused to meet her gaze as well.

Judge Alison Nathan asked Maxwell to stand to read out the sentence and she showed no reaction as she was told she would serve 20 years in jail.

Maxwell was led out of the courtroom in the same ankle shackles she was brought in with.

Ghislaine Maxwell remained stone faced during her sentencing Tuesday as she wore a light blue prison uniform with a long sleeved white t-shirt underneath it

Maxwell refused to meet the gaze of her victims even when they were reading their victim impact statements. In the case of Sarah Ransome she repeatedly looked over at her and burst into tears but Maxwell calmly sipped her coffee

Maxwell was led out of the courtroom in the same ankle shackles she was brought in with

Judge Alison Nathan asked Maxwell to stand to read out the sentence and showed no reaction as she was told she would serve 20 years in jail

Judge Alison Nathan handed down the 240-month sentence followed by five years supervised release after calling Maxwell’s crimes ‘heinous and prefatory.’ The judge imposed a fine of $750,000 and recommended she be sent to the Danbury, Connecticut, Federal Correctional Institution.

The sentencing marks the end of a decades-long fight for justice by victims of Maxwell and Epstein 

The low-security federal prison was the inspiration for the fictional prison in the Netflix show ‘Orange Is The New Black.’

‘Ms. Maxwell worked with Epstein to select young victims who were vulnerable and played a pivotal role in facilitating sexual abuse,’ Judge Nathan said, making it clear the case called for a ‘very significant sentence’ that sent an ‘unmistakable message’ that such crimes would be punished. 

There is no parole for federal prison, so Maxwell is likely to serve the entire 20-year sentence, but could potentially be released a few years early for good behavior. 

After the sentencing, Maxwell’s attorney Bobbi Sternheim said outside the courthouse, ‘Our client Ghislaine Maxwell has been vilified, pilloried and left little room for her to be treated fairly.

‘Because even before she stropped forward into this courthouse, she was being tried and convicted in the court of public opinion.

‘Ghislaine will appeal this case and we’re confident she will prevail on appeal.’

Maxwell’s brother, Kevin, briefly spoke following the sentencing and said they would be ‘solidly’ behind her during her appeal.

Ghislaine Maxwell defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim talks to the media outside the US District Court for the Southern District of New York after the sentencing

Sarah Ransome and Elizabeth Stein held hands as they walked out of court Tuesday. Ransome claimed in her victim impact statement, ‘I was nothing more than a sex toy with a heartbeat and soul used to entertain Epstein, Maxwell and others’. Elizabeth Stein revealed she had to have an abortion after getting raped ‘countless times’

Annie Farmer is smiling after the verdict outside the Manhattan courthouse. Farmer fought back tears as she asked the judge to take into account the ‘ongoing suffering of them many women she abused and exploited’

Before the sentencing Maxwell addressed the court and said she was ‘fooled’ by Epstein. 

‘I realize I have been convicted of assisting Jeffrey Epstein to commit these crimes,’ she said. ‘My association with Epstein will permanently stain me. It is the biggest regret of my life that I ever met him.’ 

She added that Epstein ‘fooled all of those in his orbit.’

She addressed her victims and said, ‘I’m sorry for the pain that you have experienced. I hope my conviction and harsh incarceration brings you closure. 

‘I hope this brings the women who have suffered some measure of peace and finality to help you put those experiences of so many years ago in a place that allows you to look forward and not back.’

After the sentencing Annie Farmer slammed Maxwell’s ‘very hollow’ apology.

‘It felt very powerful to finally have a chance to speak and have my voice on the record and say how her crimes impacted people and myself,’ Farmer said.

‘Her statement felt like a very hollow apology to me. she did not take responsibility for her crimes that she committed, and it felt like once more than she was trying to do something that benefitted her and not at all about the harm that she caused.’

GHISLAINE MAXWELL’S STATEMENT TO THE COURT:

Your honor, it is hard for me to address the court after listening to the pain and anguish expressed today.

The terrible impact on the lives of so many women is difficult to hear and even more difficult to absorb, both in its scale and extent. 

I acknowledge their suffering and empathize deeply with all of the victims in this case.

I also acknowledge with that I have been a victim of helping Jeffrey Epstein commit these crimes.’

I realize I have been convicted of assisting Jeffrey Epstein to commit these crimes. My association with Epstein will permanently stain me. 

It is the biggest regret of my life that I ever met him.

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.

His impact upon all those who were close to him has been devastating. 

Victims considered him as a godfather, a mentor, a benefactor, a friend, a lover. 

It is absolutely unfathomable today to think that was how he was viewed contemporaneously. His impact on all those close to him has been devastating.

I’m sorry for the pain that you have experienced. I hope my conviction and harsh incarceration brings you closure. 

I hope this brings the women who have suffered some measure of peace and finality to help you put those experiences of so many years ago in a place that allows you to look forward and not back.

I also acknowledge the paint this case has wrought to those I love, the many I held and still hold close, the relationships I have lost and will never be able to regain.  

It is my sincerest wish to all those in this courtroom and all those outside this courtroom that today brings a terrible chapter to an end.

And to those of you who spoke here today and those who did not, may this day help you travel through darkness into the light.

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