Put Maxwell in a cage forever, says Giuffre

Duke’s accuser calls for Epstein’s former girlfriend to be jailed for life after ‘opening the door to hell’

GHISLAINE MAXWELL should be kept “in a cage forever” after “opening the door to hell” for her victims, the Duke of York’s accuser has told a court before the ex-socialite’s sentencing. Virginia Giuffre submitted an impact statement to the judge who will sentence Maxwell, the former girlfriend of the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, in New York on Tuesday.

In the statement, addressing Maxwell, Ms Giuffre wrote: “Jeffrey Epstein was a terrible paedophile. But I never would have met Jeffrey Epstein if not for you. You opened the door to hell.

“Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, you used your femininity to betray us, and you led us all through it.”

Ms Giuffre, who now lives in Australia, added: “I worry every single day and night that you will get away with it. You deserve to spend the rest of your life in a jail cell. You deserve to be trapped in a cage forever, just like you trapped your victims.”

Maxwell was convicted in December of sex trafficking and other crimes Ms Giuffre was not a witness in the monthlong trial but is one of the highest-profile accusers of Epstein.

In February, Ms Giuffre reached a multi-million pound settlement with the Duke over claims he abused her, which he has denied. Ms Giuffre, who had begun a civil claim against the Duke, accepted a reported sum of £12million.

Prosecutors in New York have argued that Maxwell should be jailed for between 30 and 55 years.

Annie Farmer, one of the victims who gave evidence at her trial, also submitted an impact statement. Addressing Judge Alison Nathan, she wrote: “I ask you to bear in mind how Maxwell’s unwillingness to acknowledge her crimes, her lack of remorse, and her repeated lies about her victims created the need for many of us to engage in a long fight for justice.”

She said that fight had felt “like a black hole sucking in our precious time, energy, and well-being”.

Ms Farmer also asked the judge to consider the “suffering of the many women abused and exploited” as they “continue to live with the memories of the ways she [Maxwell] harmed us”.

She added: “This toxic combination of being sexually exposed and exploited, feeling confused and naïve, blaming myself all resulted in significant shame.” Maxwell’s legal team has argued that she should spend no more than five years in prison. They said she should not pay for Epstein’s crimes, and that she has suffered in jail, including receiving death threats.

In a letter to the judge, Bobbi Sternheim, Maxwell’s lawyer, argued that statements from several other women should not be considered.

She wrote: “The sentencing proceeding should not be a bully pulpit for anyone who claims abuse.”