Former British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison this evening after being convicted of sex trafficking.

During a month-long trial at a US federal court in Manhattan it emerged Maxwell, 60, lured young girls to massage rooms to be molested by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

During sentencing, Judge Alison Nathan told the court she “repeatedly, and over the course of many years participated in a horrific scheme to traffic young girls, some the age of 14.”

Adding: “The damage done to these girls was incalculable.”

Who is Ghislaine Maxwell?

Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News: British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for helping American financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. Picture: PABritish socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for helping American financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. Picture: PA

Once a “sophisticated” and “very impressive” British socialite it was Ghislaine Maxwell’s affiliation with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein which led to her detention for sex trafficking.

The daughter of disgraced media tycoon Robert Maxwell, the 60-year-old attempted to start a new life in Manhattan after his death in 1991 and met Epstein the following year.

Mr Maxwell was found drowned after apparently falling from his yacht – called Lady Ghislaine – off the Tenerife coast.

His sons, Ian and Kevin Maxwell, who were on the board of the Maxwell Communication Corporation, were investigated after their father’s death over an alleged conspiracy to defraud the company’s pension fund. Both were cleared of fraud in 1996.

Who was Ghislaine Maxwell's dad?

Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News: Robert , Maxwell was known for his flamboyant lifestyle. Picture: PARobert , Maxwell was known for his flamboyant lifestyle. Picture: PA

Infamous Robert Maxwell was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former MP remembered for his dodgy dealings and mysterious death.

In his youth, he joined the Czechoslovak Army after escaping the Nazi occupation of his home country and was decorated following active service in the British Army.

After making Britain his home he began work in publishing, initially with Pergamon Press, and latterly buying the British Printing Corporation, Mirror Group Newspapers and Macmillan Publishers, among others.

During the 1960s, Maxwell also spent six years as a Member of Parliament. Elected as MP for Buckingham in 1964, representing the Labour Party, he was subsequently re-elected in 1966. He lost his seat in 1970 to Conservative William Benyon.

Living in Headington Hill Hall in Oxford, Maxwell was known for his flamboyant lifestyle, flying his own helicopter and sailing on his luxury yacht, the Lady Ghislaine.

This lavish life would be his downfall though, running up debts and having to sell parts of his business empire to pay back monies owed.

In 1991 Maxwell was found dead, floating in the Atlantic Ocean, having apparently fallen overboard from his yacht.

It was subsequently discovered that his publishing empire was riddled with debt and that he had looted an estimated £400 million from the Mirror Group pension fund.

An inquest found that Maxwell had suffered a heart attack combined with accidental drowning but conspiracy theories about his death continue.