Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty

I am so relieved that she was found guilty, I also thought her money and power would get her off.
Now it’s time for the powers that be to get the other big names like PA, and what were Trump and Clinton doing there amongst others.

I read that the time she spent in prison prior to her conviction was horrendous- rat infested and mouldy food, so I don’t think she will be staying anywhere in comfort. Although her crime was heinous , isn’t it very sad that a woman’s mind must be so twisted to do such things, presumably under the spell of an evil man.

Like others I think that she has to accept responsibility for her own actions, but I also think that she is being punished for JE's crimes as well as her own, and that at the age of 60 she has been in prison for long enough already. To whom is she any kind of threat now?

The girls were deceived and manipulated by GM but I have seen no evidence that they weren't free to walk away which to my mind should be taken into account.

I would rather have seen a very hefty fine, earmarked for children's charities, and regular stints of community service.

Wouldn’t it be good if trials like this one challenge the myth that ‘sex work’ is a positive, empowering way of life for the majority who “choose it”

Now it is time to find and prosecute all those filthy men who used the same services as Epstein. Including those in high positions. Won’t happen,though.

Whitewavemark2

I feel sorry for the victims and what they have had to suffer from those who refused to believe them. Their bravery is to be admired, particularly as the majority of them came from dysfunctional and poor households.

This is my take on it. Those poor girls (women now) who were not believed when they told their stories must be feeling vindicated now. I wonder if there will be a spate of apologise from those who doubted them.

It’s a great pity all the abusers won’t be lined up in court simply because they’re rich, influential men who will have the money to get themselves out of the sh1t.
Regarding her sentencing I wonder if it would be reduced if she named all the men involved?
Or will she unfortunately ‘commit suicide’ like Epstein did?
Even if she is being scapegoated she’s as guilty as he was.

I also noticed her adoring gaze of Epstein in all the photos, MOnica. I have some sympathy with her childhood problems but we have to take responsibility for our behaviour when we become adults. I hope she gets an appropiate sentence.
I actually thought her name was of Irish origin, but obviously I'm wrong.

Oldwoman70

Does anyone really believe she will be handed the maximum sentence? She knew what was happening, she facilitated it and should serve a prison sentence. Anyone else feel that any sentence will be served in a minimum security prison with lots of facilities.

She may have grown up with a manipulative father but how does that explain being complicit in the sexual abuse of young girls?

I expect her to be given a sentence at least towards the maximum, I'd be very surprised if it was particularly lenient. I'm not knowledgeable enough about USA prisons to know their different categories but I seriously doubt any have lots of facilities. While I don't think prisons should in any way be like 'holiday camps' surely it's the loss of liberty that is the punishment?

She is a product of her upbringing, but no matter how skewed that might have been, as an adult she had choices. Unfortunately for those victims she made the wrong ones for her own self-interest. There is no excuse, she knew it was wrong.

lemsip

I think that if Epstein had stood trial Maxwell would not have got such a long sentence....they went after her because he wasn't alive anymore

I agree with this. However she is guilty of her crimes and should be punished. She wouldn’t have got even a quarter of that possible seventy years here in this country. As that’s what has been mentioned, I do expect her to get a very long sentence, given that she’s in America. I hope she names the men and I hope Prince Andrew is named too, as he apparently had sex with a 17 year old girl in New York where sex is illegal until the age of 18.

In Rachel Johnson's description of her Maxwell doesn't exactly sound like a victim deserving of sympathy.

"I wandered into Balliol JCR one day in search of its subsidised breakfast granola-and-Nescafé offering and found a shiny glamazon with naughty eyes holding court astride a table, a high-heeled boot resting on my brother Boris’s thigh. She gave me a pitying glance but I did manage to snag an invite to her party in Headington Hill Hall — even though I wasn't in the same college as her and Boris. "
From The Spectator.

Only women from abusive childhoods and lived in poverty can be abused, never wealthy women

Well the court case surrounding Princess Haya knocks hat one on the head! There are plenty of others!

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/21/dubai-rulers-divorce-settlement-reveals-truly-opulent-standard-of-living

No matter what sort of upbringing she had, surely as a grown and seemingly intelligent woman she must have known that what she was doing was wrong on so many levels. I hope they lock her up and throw away the key because anything less is an insult to the young, vulnerable girls who were abused by Maxwell, Epstein and their equally unsavoury cronies. I include Prince Andrew in that group.

I read somewhere that Virginia Guiffre wasn't called because of terror at what she might disclose and that, given she is suing Prince A, there was likely pressure coming from behind the scenes of that debacle.

Her family background gave her a fabulous life and entree to all sorts of high living and massive wealth. She was hiding on her own private estate when she was arrested! It seems to me a sign of modern Britain and the kinds of people we now appear to idolise that we might have sympathy for her!

I feel far more sorry for the girls she abused and procured for others to abuse.

I have some sympathy for her given her family background and I have no doubt she was manipulated by Epstein. An American lawyer speaking on television last night thought her sentence would likely be ‘in the teens’. I found it very interesting that the prosecution didn’t call Virginia Guiffre as a witness as they had doubts about the truthfulness of the testimony she would give.

Does anyone really believe she will be handed the maximum sentence? She knew what was happening, she facilitated it and should serve a prison sentence. Anyone else feel that any sentence will be served in a minimum security prison with lots of facilities.

She may have grown up with a manipulative father but how does that explain being complicit in the sexual abuse of young girls?

Whitewavemark2

I feel sorry for the victims and what they have had to suffer from those who refused to believe them. Their bravery is to be admired, particularly as the majority of them came from dysfunctional and poor households.

???

Iam64

MOnica, no doubt your point has some merit. It’s also important to remember, she’s a very intelligent, well educated woman who made informed choices about her life. She could have got a proper job, built a career.

The young girls she and Epstein groomed and sexually exploited had very difficult, neglectful, abusive childhood experiences. They were vulnerable to exactly the kind of criminal activity perpetrated on them.

Agree, Iam64

She could have had an excellent career with her education, connections, money and power, one on the right side of the law.
However, her father had little regard for any of his employees (or pensioners) so she had a poor example to follow. Criminal activities and using people was the norm for them.

I think that if Epstein had stood trial Maxwell would not have got such a long sentence....they went after her because he wasn't alive anymore

Anniebach

Only women from abusive childhoods and lived in poverty can be abused, never wealthy women

Not so anniebach, who said that? My experience of working with/having friendships with women and men who experienced childhood abuse was it crosses all social classes. Some manage to live good lives, others don’t.

I wasn’t surprised, she has to be kept under lock and key to keep her silent.

I agree that it should be the men who were involved who should be held to account but that won't happen. I was once told that prostitution exists because there is a demand for it. I hope that Maxwell's lawyers can negotiate a deal so that she doesn't carry the whole can for the clients who enjoyed the services provided.

Pleased that justice has been done. It seems that it is easier to convict a woman on the testimony of other women than it is to convict a young man who shoots three people, killing two of them. This is despite clear video evidence of the shootings. America is not a place I expect to see justice so I was surprised.

I hope she names the men involved…