Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for trafficking teenage girls. However, in a first-ever interview since being incarcerated, Maxwell has called disgraced Prince Andrew her ‘dear friend’.
“I feel so bad for him. Yes, I follow what is happening to him. He is paying such a price for the association (with Jeffrey Epstein). I consider him a dear friend…I care about him,” said Maxwell in a rare interview with Daily Mail.
When reminded that Prince Andrew and his lawyers rejected the claims that he was friends with her, Maxwell says, “I accept that this friendship could not survive my conviction.”
Read more: Timeline: Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking scandal
While Maxwell remains in prison, Prince Andrew has been able to avoid facing the judicial music, primarily due to the family he belongs to. However, in recent times, even that family has started distancing itself from the Duke of York.
As reported by WION, in the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth II’s demise, the royal family website had demoted Prine Andrew to the bottom of the royals’ list.
As for Maxwell, she continues to maintain that meeting Epstein was the biggest mistake of her life.
“I said in my court statement that meeting Epstein was the greatest mistake of my life. And obviously, if I could go back today, I would avoid meeting him, and I would make different choices.”
Epstein was accused of sexually exploiting dozens of underage girls, some as young as 14, at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida between 2002 and 2005.
Read more: Ghislaine Maxwell becomes ‘bffs’ with notorious double-murderer in jail
After Epstein’s alleged suicide, Maxwell was arrested in the United States and charged with sex trafficking minors for him on July 2, 2020.
After a very public trial where Maxwell became the face of Epstein’s sex-fuelled empire, she was handed a 20-year prison sentence by a court in New York in June, earlier this year.
WATCH | Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years of prison
Although her lawyers asked the court for leniency due to trauma, judge Alison Nathan decided to hand out the sentence that was suggested by the US Probation Office. Earlier, the prosecutors in the case asked the court for a sentence between 30 and 55 years
(With inputs from agencies)
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