“At the sentencing, I anticipate that there will be a lot of testimony from many, many other women who were not able to be heard at the trial, who will come forward and bring information about their suffering at the hands of Ghislaine Maxwell,” Mrs McCawley said.

“I believe this will be considered by the court before Judge Nathan renders her decision on the length of time Ghislaine will serve behind bars.”

After criminal proceedings against Epstein were officially dropped when he was found dead in his prison cell in August 2019, US District Judge Richard Berman took the step of allowing more than a dozen women to read impact statements at a specially convened hearing.

Maxwell, 60, is facing up to 65 years in prison after she was found guilty by a Manhattan jury on Wednesday on five counts including the sex trafficking of a minor.

Judge Nathan will be waiting to receive a pre-sentence report before scheduling a date for the hearing. This will be compiled by an impartial investigator who will look into Maxwell’s background, family, education and employment history to determine if any of these should influence the severity or leniency of the sentence.

Judge Nathan could take into consideration that Maxwell is a first-time offender, however former prosecutors say the seriousness of the charges would merit a considerable penalty.

‘Expect a very serious sentence’

Sarah Krissoff, a former prosecutor with the Southern District of New York (SDNY), said she expected a “very significant prison sentence” for Maxwell.

“Given the involvement of minors, the judge has really great discretion to impose a significant sentence, and based on the evidence that was presented at trial, frankly, I expect the judge to impose a very severe sentence upon her,” she said.

There has been speculation she could cooperate with US authorities and begin “naming names” in exchange for leniency, however legal experts say this is unlikely at this stage.

Her attorneys have said they are already working on an appeal, though did not lay out the legal grounds.

Some 135 people claimed compensation from the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Fund, which is operated by the later financier’s estate, however only four women gave evidence at Maxwell’s three-week trial. 

A condition of the settlement was that recipients were forced to drop civil suits against Maxwell, and were barred from filing any in future.