Ghislaine’s twisted ‘Hotel California’, where you could check in any time you like, but you could never leave
REVEALED: Scots Epstein victim’s impact statement
A SCOT has described the child sex ring that Ghislaine Maxwell ran for paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as ‘like Hotel California... you could blindly check into the Epstein-Maxwell dungeon of sexual hell, but you could never leave’.
Sarah Ransome, 33, is one of several women who have submitted victim impact statements to a US court ahead of Maxwell being sentenced for child sex trafficking crimes on Tuesday.
Lawyers for the shamed socialite, who faces up to 55 years in jail, had tried to block the women’s powerful testimony.
But the explosive documents were filed in court on Friday night and will be read out at Tuesday’s hearing.
Ms Ransome – who is the daughter of the second Baron of Drumochter and grew up in the Highlands – describes how she was recruited in a New York nightclub to be a ‘sex toy with a heartbeat and soul’, adding that she once almost jumped into sharkinfested waters to escape Epstein’s Caribbean island.
She calls Maxwell the ‘Five Star General of this enormous, decades-running sex trafficking conspiracy … that snared 100s if not 1,000s of vulnerable girls’.
Previously, Ms Ransome has revealed she was recruited into Epstein’s sex ring in 2006
‘Five Star General of enormous sex trafficking conspiracy’
when she was 22 and was taken to his private island in the Caribbean where she was repeatedly raped.
She has claimed she was controlled by Maxwell, Epstein’s madam, whom she has branded a ‘sick and sadistic woman who took pleasure in humiliating and bullying other human beings’.
Last week, Maxwell’s legal team attempted to block Ms Ransome’s statement. Lawyers argued the sentencing should not become an ‘open forum’ for any victims of Epstein to speak out or it could unfairly lead to a longer sentence.
But a lawyer for Miss Ransome and Elizabeth Stein, an American, argued they had the right to be ‘reasonably heard at any public proceeding’ such as a sentencing.
Virginia Roberts, who claimed she was sexually abused by Prince Andrew after being introduced to him by Maxwell, has also written a damning ‘open letter’ to her tormentor. Ms Roberts settled a civil lawsuit against Andrew earlier this year with no admission of guilt on the part of the Duke of York, who has always denied any wrongdoing.
The 38-year-old, who lives in Australia, wrote: ‘For me, and for so many others, you opened the door to hell. And then, Ghislaine, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, you used your you led femininity us all through to betray it.’ us and Another victim, Juliette Bryant, writes: ‘Simply put, Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster.’ At least two of the woman are expected to read their letters in person while facing Maxwell across the courtroom. Others, including Ms Roberts, will have their statements read by lawyers.
Maxwell, 60, was found guilty in December of five federal sex trafficking charges relating to her role in recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who took his own life in 2019.
Maxwell is hoping for a sentence of less than 15 years because that would allow her to serve her time in a lower-security prison.
Whatever the sentence, Maxwell’s legal team will immediately file an appeal.
In pre-sentencing court documents which were filed last week, prosecutors condemned her ‘utter lack of remorse’ and urged the judge to impose a sentence of between 30 and 55 years.