Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking minor girls for Jeffrey Epstein

New York (CNN)Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday for carrying out a years-long scheme with her longtime confidante Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls.

Maxwell, 60, was convicted in December of five counts, including sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three related counts of conspiracy.

She did not testify in her defense during the trial, but on Tuesday she spoke in court to the victims shortly before the sentence was handed down.

"Jeffrey Epstein should have been here before all of you," Maxwell said at the podium, her legs shackled. "It is not about Epstein, ultimately. It is for me to be sentenced."

She told them she hoped the conviction would "bring you closure."

"I am sorry for the pain you've experienced," she said, saying she hoped "this day would bring a terrible chapter to the end."

"May this day help you travel from darkness into the light," Maxwell said.

Judge Alison Nathan told the court that Maxwell was not taking extra punishment for Epstein's actions but for her own.

"Miss Maxwell is not punished in place of Epstein," she said. "Miss Maxwell is being punished for the role that she played."

The judge later added that she took "into account the lack of expression of responsibility" in deciding the sentence.

The 20-year sentence represents a pivotal moment in an international sex trafficking case that stretched over decades and exemplified the ways that the rich and powerful can avoid consequences for their actions.

Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and a $750,000 fine, which her attorney said she is unable to pay. The judge said she will be sent to a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut.

Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges, was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019 but died by suicide in prison a month later. Maxwell has been detained since her arrest in July 2020.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Maxwell to 30 to 55 years in prison, while the probation department recommended 20 years. Maxwell's attorneys requested a more lenient sentence of between 4.25 and 5.25 years in prison.

Prior to the sentence, a number of victims spoke about the impact of the abuse on their lives. The judge granted requests from eight women to give victim impact statements either in writing or in person at the sentencing.