Maxwell seeks to gag Epstein victim ahead of sentencing

GHISLAINE MAXWELL is trying to prevent a British victim of Jeffrey Epstein from testifying at her sex-trafficking sentencing hearing next week.

Maxwell’s lawyers are attempting to exclude Sarah Ransome from giving a victim impact statement before a New York court, saying the alleged sexual abuse she suffered falls outside the time frame covered in her trial.

It is understood Ms Ransome is hoping to address district judge Alison Nathan as the prosecution pushes for a 20-year sentence for Maxwell on five counts of trafficking women and girls for Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

“To our understanding, Ms Ransome alleges she was a victim of Epstein and Ms Maxwell from approximately Oct 2006 to April 2007, a full two years after the conduct in this case ended,” Maxwell’s lawyers wrote in a court filing.

“She therefore does not qualify as a ‘crime victim’ under the Crime Victims Rights Act. While it is appropriate for victims to be present pursuant to the CVRA, Ms Maxwell’s sentencing proceeding should not be an open forum for any alleged victim to be heard.”

Ms Ransome, 37,alleges she was abused on Little St James, Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, in 2006. She claims Maxwell, 60, was aware of it, and in one case forced her into a room where Epstein raped her.

In a request for a more lenient sentence yestesday, Maxwell’s attorneys said it would be a “travesty of justice” if she faced a sentence appropriate for Epstein. They asked for up to five years and three months in prison.

Maxwell has been detained since her arrest in July 2020, and they say her time behind bars has been a “disproportionate pre-sentence punishment”.