‘Horrific scheme’
How justice caught up with Ghislaine Maxwell after she trafficked underage girls for paedophile financier
1991
Ghislaine Maxwell, 30, meets Jeffrey Epstein, 38, in New York, shortly after her father’s death
1994
Prosecutors claim that, beginning in at least 1994, Maxwell “enticed and groomed multiple minor girls to engage in sex acts” with Epstein
1999
Maxwell introduces Epstein to the Duke of York. The Duke later welcomes Epstein to the Queen’s private Scottish retreat in Aberdeenshire
2001
Virginia Roberts Giuffre claims she had sex with Prince Andrew at Maxwell’s London townhouse and on two other occasions. The claims were later struck from court records. The Duke has always strongly denied the claims
2008
Epstein is convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution. Maxwell continues to appear regularly in public, often invited to high society events. She is no longer seen publicly with Epstein, though it is thought the pair kept in touch
2015
Maxwell is sued by Ms Giuffre for defamation after calling her a liar. The case is settled out of court in 2017 but the documents were unsealed in Aug 2019
July 2019
Epstein is detained on fresh sex-trafficking charges. Shortly afterwards, Maxwell shutters Terramar, her non-profit project for ocean conservation
August 2019
Epstein is found dead in his jail cell, a day after Ms Giuffre’s suit against Maxwell is unsealed. A picture emerges of Maxwell at a burger joint in Los Angeles. It’s the socialite’s last public sighting
July 2020
Maxwell is arrested on charges including conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transporting minors for criminal sexual activity and perjury
November 2021
Maxwell goes on trial, facing six counts of enticing minors and sex trafficking between 1994 and 2004. She denies all the charges
December 2021
She faces life behind bars after being found guilty of sex trafficking underage girls for Epstein
March 2022
Maxwell files for a retrial after it emerged two jurors only revealed they had a history of sexual abuse during deliberations
April 2022
Maxwell’s request for a retrial and a separate bid to overturn her conviction is denied by New York judge Alison Nathan. However, Ms Nathan rejected the socialite’s conviction on two counts, potentially reducing her sentence
June 2022
Maxwell’s lawyers claim her cellmate planned to strangle her in her sleep for money. She is later placed on suicide watch ahead of her sentencing hearing
June 2022
Maxwell faces being sent to prison for decades. Her victims, including two British women, will give impact statements ahead of Maxwell’s sentencing in New York.
Maxwell is sentenced to 20 years in prison.