Ghislaine Maxwell, Associate of Jeffrey Epstein, Sentenced to 20 Years for Sex Trafficking

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell to 20 years in prison for what prosecutors said was a decadelong scheme to help disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.

Before being sentenced, Ms. Maxwell spoke to a packed Manhattan courtroom that included some of the dozens of women who have accused her of exploiting them. She called Epstein, her onetime boyfriend, a manipulative, cunning and controlling man who fooled all those in his orbit.

“It is the greatest regret of my life that I ever met Jeffrey Epstein,” she said. Ms. Maxwell, standing shackled in blue jail garb, said she acknowledged the victims’ suffering and empathized with them.

The sentencing brought to a close a decades-long push to hold Epstein and his associates to justice.

On Tuesday, Judge Alison Nathan said Ms. Maxwell’s criminal sex trafficking was far-reaching and involved her selecting young, vulnerable victims for Epstein and at times participating in the abuse herself. She said Ms. Maxwell hadn’t accepted responsibility for her crimes.