Courtney Wild

Courtney Wild addressed the court at Maxwell’s sentencing, reiterating the message she had carried through years of legal proceedings: the victims were children, and they deserved to be protected.

She described the lasting effects of the abuse on her life — the difficulty in trusting people, the cycles of self-destructive behavior, and the years lost to trauma and recovery.

Courtney spoke about the broader pattern of the Epstein operation: dozens of young girls, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, systematically recruited, abused, and discarded. She said Maxwell was the “glue” that held the operation together.

She recalled the 2008 Non-Prosecution Agreement and the devastation she felt when Epstein received what she considered a negligible sentence. She said that moment taught her that the justice system could fail victims, but it also galvanized her to keep fighting.

Courtney asked the court to impose the maximum sentence. She said that Maxwell’s age or claims of a difficult childhood should not diminish the severity of her crimes. “We were children,” Courtney stated. “We didn’t have the power, the money, or the voice to protect ourselves. That’s exactly what Maxwell and Epstein exploited.”

She concluded by saying that the conviction and sentencing of Maxwell represented a form of justice that many survivors had waited decades to see.