Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking and abusing girls with her billionaire paedophile lover Jeffrey Epstein

She finally spoke about her guilt and apologised to victims during her sentencing on Tuesday (28.06.22) at Manhattan Federal Court - but deflected blame by insisting she had been "fooled" by the financier.

Shackled Maxwell, dressed in a white face mask and blue prison uniform with her ankles chained, said: "Your honor, it is hard for me to address the court after listening to the pain and anguish expressed today.

"The terrible impact on the lives of so many women is difficult to hear and even more difficult to absorb in its scale and extent. I want to acknowledge their suffering. I empathize deeply with all of the victims in this case.

"I acknowledge with that I have been a victim of helping Jeffrey Epstein commit these crimes.

"I realize I have been convicted of assisting Jeffrey Epstein to commit these crimes. My association with Epstein will permanently stain me. It is the biggest regret of my life that I ever met him."

Epstein's victims Sarah Ransome, Elizabeth Stein, Annie Farmer and an accuser known as 'Kate' were present in the courtroom and confronted Maxwell.

The socialite, branded Epstein's 'madam', turned to them and grovelled:

"I'm sorry for the pain that you have experienced. I hope this brings the women who have suffered some measure of peace and faintly to help you put those experiences of so many years ago in a place that allows you to look forward and not back."

Handing down the sentence, Judge Alison Nathan said: "That is 20 years.

Then five years of supervised release."

She also imposed a $750,000 (£615,000) fine on the disgraced heiress, who lured a stream of vulnerable teenagers for Epstein to abuse at his various la luxurious properties, with the pair described as "partners in crime".

Maxwell was found guilty on 29 December by a federal jury on five charges, including sex trafficking for the recruitment and grooming of four girls between 1994 and 2004 for sexual encounters with her former boyfriend Epstein.

Judge Nathan branded her "heinous and predatory" and dismissed the assertion she cannot afford fines.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to give Maxwell up to 55 years behind bars, but Maxwell's defence fought to get a more lenient sentence of just five years - saying she was the victim of a domineering father that left her "vulnerable" to Epstein's manipulations.