The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the former model turned alleged Mossad agent who was found guilty for her role in procuring underage girls to work as prostitutes at Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-slave island.
The “ghislaine maxwell news today” is a live update of the trial for Ghislaine Maxwell.
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Jeffrey Epstein, the infamous banker who committed himself in federal prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, loomed over Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial. Credit… via AP/Uma Sanghvi/The Palm Beach Post
On Monday, a defense counsel told jurors that the sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell was a misguided attempt by prosecutors who targeted her after failing to prosecute infamous billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
After a prosecutor delivered a 35-minute opening statement painting Ms. Maxwell in harsh terms as someone who “played an essential role” in a decade-long scheme to entice and manipulate teenage girls who were groomed methodically then sexually abused by Mr. Epstein, the lawyer, Bobbi C. Sternheim, took her turn addressing jurors.
Mr. Epstein’s conduct made Ms. Sternheim’s client a “scapegoat,” according to Ms. Sternheim. “Women have been blamed for men’s poor conduct ever since Eve was accused of enticing Adam with the fruit,” she remarked.
Mr. Epstein’s death in federal detention in Manhattan, she said, had left “a huge vacuum in the pursuit of justice” for many individuals. Ms. Maxwell is “filling that void,” according to Ms. Sternheim. “I’m going to fill that vacant chair.”
“This case is about memory, deception, and money,” Ms. Sternheim said, urging jurors to be cautious of the statements they would hear from four witnesses who are expected to testify that they were harmed by Mr. Epstein.
She went on to say that allegations from “four accusers’ lips” include “unreliable and dubious” recollections that might have been “corrupted” or “polluted” by “continuous media reporting” over time.
Ms. Sternheim also implied many times that Ms. Maxwell’s testimony was motivated by a “want for a large jackpot of money.”
Mr. Epstein has been compared to a “21st century James Bond” by Ms. Sternheim, who says his mystery has piqued interest and “his accusations have rocked the money tree.”
Ms. Sternheim attempted to dispute aspects of the government’s story during her opening statement. Prosecutors accused Ms. Maxwell of assisting in the recruitment of young women who were transported by private aircraft to one of Mr. Epstein’s homes and allegedly molested.
Ms. Sternheim confirmed that the flights did happen, but she described them as a “Hamptons Jitney in the air,” transporting a number of Mr. Epstein’s renowned pals, including professors and a former astronaut.
Ms. Sternheim also told jurors that some of the “grooming” action described by prosecutors was “lawful conduct.”
“Where the facts will reveal none existed,” she continued, “the government wants you to place a dark, subjective purpose.”
A federal prosecutor described Ghislaine Maxwell as a “predator.” Credit… Associated Press/John Minchillo
As opening statements in Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial started Monday afternoon in a Manhattan courtroom, a federal prosecutor portrayed the former socialite as a “predator” who targeted young girls for sexual assault.
“The defendant sexually exploited young girls,” Lara Pomerantz, an assistant US attorney, told the jury, adding that Ms. Maxwell built trust with the kids, “helped normalize abusive sexual activity,” and then “offered them up” to her longtime lover, Jeffrey Epstein.
Ms. Maxwell, the daughter of a British media magnate, is charged with six charges related from her participation in supporting Mr. Epstein’s sexual exploitation and abuse of minors, according to authorities. She’s been adamant about maintaining her innocence.
Ms. Pomerantz described Ms. Maxwell as more than simply an enabler of Mr. Epstein’s behavior on Monday, calling them “partners in crime.” Ms. Maxwell, in addition to bringing females in as masseuses for Mr. Epstein, was occasionally present in the room during the abuse and even touched the girls herself, according to Ms. Pomerantz.
“The defendant and Epstein were conducting horrible acts behind closed doors,” Ms. Pomerantz added. “They were assaulting adolescent females sexually.” (Ms. Maxwell is not accused of sexual misconduct.)
Ms. Pomerantz added that the recruitment of girls for abuse “developed over the course of a decade.” Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein, she said, recruited females in the 1990s under the premise of mentoring and scholarship chances. “They had established a pyramid plan of abuse” by the 2000s, Ms. Pomerantz said, in which they pushed females to recruit other young girls.
Ms. Maxwell appeared in court without shackles on Monday, dressed in a cream-colored sweater and black leggings. During the opening comments, around a dozen people queued up on the courtroom benches.
The allegations against Ms. Maxwell revolve on four accusers who claim she groomed them to be molested by Mr. Epstein while they were minors between 1994 and 2004. Prosecutors have claimed that those accusers, who are now adults, would testify at trial, some under pseudonyms or with incomplete identities.
Ms. Pomerantz started her opening statement by recounting the story of one of the accusers, named only as “Jane” in court, who met Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell at a summer camp for gifted youngsters, according to Ms. Pomerantz. “This encounter was the beginning of a nightmare that would linger for years,” Ms. Pomerantz said of Jane, who was 14 at the time.
Ms. Maxwell’s attorneys have indicated that they would attempt to discredit the accusers’ evidence and question the government’s motivations for initiating the case against her. Her trial is generally seen as a stand-in for Mr. Epstein’s prosecution, which was prevented when he died in detention only a month after his arrest in 2019.
Ms. Pomerantz speculated on Ms. Maxwell’s involvement, noting that she was “jet-setting in private aircraft and enjoying a life of amazing luxury” at the time of the abuse.
Ms. Pomerantz said that the girls “were merely a means to fund her lifestyle,” a manner of ensuring that Epstein, who “demanded continual sexual fulfillment from young girls,” was happy.
Rebecca Davis O’Brien (Rebecca Davis O’Brien)
Attorneys representing Ghislaine Maxwell, Laura A. Menninger, left, and Jeffrey S. Pagliuca, right, arrived at the Manhattan courtroom where Ms. Maxwell’s trial is expected to begin. Credit… The New York Times’ Dave Sanders
After settling some last-minute concerns involving two jurors, the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell began in earnest on Monday afternoon, with opening remarks from the prosecution and defense.
Ms. Maxwell, 59, the daughter of a British media magnate and a former mainstay in New York City’s social scene, is accused of assisting the sexual exploitation and abuse of adolescent girls and young women by Jeffrey Epstein, her longstanding lover, according to prosecutors.
Mr. Epstein hangs over Ms. Maxwell’s trial even in death, because his actions are at the core of the case. Mr. Epstein’s escapades, contacts with the criminal justice system, and death have been the subject of books, exposés, podcasts, conspiracy theories, lawsuits, investigations, and films, and the trial is anticipated to give a window into his life. However, they have never been presented in a federal courtroom.
Ms. Maxwell “assisted, enabled, and contributed to” Mr. Epstein’s crimes, according to prosecutors, by assisting him in recruiting, grooming, and abusing females under the age of 18.
Ms. Maxwell has denied any misconduct on her part. Her attorneys have questioned the intentions of the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office in pursuing the case, which is generally seen as a front for Mr. Epstein’s own trial. The disgraced businessman was arrested in July 2019 on sex-trafficking allegations and died a month later in a Manhattan prison cell.
In the early morning hours of Monday, a lengthy line of onlookers and members of the media formed outside the courtroom in Lower Manhattan, hoping to see the opening day of Ms. Maxwell’s trial. There will be no film or records of Ms. Maxwell’s case, unlike the recent broadcast state trials of Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wis., and three men convicted in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Ga., since cameras are prohibited in federal courtrooms.
The trial, which is anticipated to run six weeks, is expected to include gruesome evidence, including from women who claim Mr. Epstein molested them as minors, as well as insider tales from Mr. Epstein’s entourage. At least one of his pilots, as well as a former employee, might be called as government witnesses.
Judge Alison J. Nathan has stated she would let prosecutors to introduce evidence that goes beyond the accused behavior in the case, which runs from roughly 1994 to 2004.
The jury will hear about Mr. Epstein’s home life as well as psychological concepts like as “grooming,” which refers to purposeful attempts to make someone — in this instance, young girls — vulnerable to abuse.
According to pretrial files, jurors may also discover the names of additional persons accused of conspiring with Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein in the sex-trafficking ring by federal prosecutors. They may find out about “powerful guys” whom Ms. Maxwell offered to set up on dates with young ladies, as well as others with whom Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein interacted.
— Benjamin Weiser and Rebecca Davis O’Brien
The media and the general public waited outside the courtroom in Lower Manhattan where Ghislaine Maxwell is on trial. Credit… The New York Times’ Dave Sanders
A jury has been sworn in for Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial in central Manhattan following a two-hour delay, and opening remarks are slated to begin after lunch.
Two members of the jury panel cited schedule and work-related difficulties at the eleventh hour, delaying the commencement of the trial.
Judge Alison J. Nathan seated the jury about 10 a.m., after reading out 18 numbers of possible jurors from a whittled-down pool chosen from 231 individuals over many days of selection. The anonymous jurors were escorted out of the courtroom, along with six alternates. The first round of disputes seemed to be ready to commence.
However, Judge Nathan informed the courtroom approximately 20 minutes later that one juror’s employer had informed the juror that he may not be paid throughout the scheduled six-week trial. Another juror’s husband had planned a surprise vacation during the holidays, which would cause two days of trial to be disrupted.
Late-game jury wrangling isn’t unusual, but neither is late-game juror balking. Judge Nathan announced to the audience just before noon that she had talked with the first juror’s employer and encouraged him to review the leave policy — and that she was giving him 10 minutes to work it out.
As Judge Nathan conducted ex parte talks with the employer, this went on for another hour. Around 12:15 p.m., she asked the prosecution and defense whether they wanted to dismiss the juror or pick an alternate from the pool of remaining potential jurors sitting elsewhere in the federal courtroom.
The choice to wait was made. Judge Nathan said that she intended to maintain the juror who took a sudden vacation on the jury.
Judge Nathan said that the employer problem had been settled about 12:35 p.m.
Rebecca Davis O’Brien (Rebecca Davis O’Brien)
During her lengthy connection with Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell was a fixture on New York’s social scene. Credit… Associated Press/Rick Bajornas/United Nations
Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, a former lover and business partner of Jeffrey Epstein, faces allegations of assisting in the recruitment and trafficking of young women and girls for sex with Mr. Epstein.
Ms. Maxwell is the youngest of nine children. Her first name is pronounced ghee-LANE. She was born in France and raised in a 53-room home in the English county of Buckinghamshire.
Robert Maxwell, her father, was a publishing and media magnate. He created Pergamon Press, a scientific and medical book publisher, and controlled The Mirror, a British tabloid, as well as MTV Europe and Macmillan, an American publishing business. He went on to purchase The New York Times.
Ms. Maxwell went to the United States in 1991 when her father died, and she started dating Mr. Epstein while living in a small apartment on the Upper East Side.
She and Mr. Epstein grew close, and by the late 1990s, she was “the lady of the house,” as one former employee put it, due to the amount of time she spent at Mr. Epstein’s Palm Beach residence.
Her charisma lured high-profile guests to the estate, including former President Donald J. Trump and Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom. Ms. Maxwell’s friend and journalist Christopher Mason characterized her to The New York Times in 2019 as “saucy” and “fantastically amusing.”
Ms. Maxwell relocated to a 7,000-square-foot townhouse fewer than ten blocks from Mr. Epstein’s property in 2000. The mansion was acquired for $4.95 million by an unidentified limited liability business with the same address as J. Epstein & Co.
She continued to visit Mr. Epstein’s houses in Florida and New York, and, according to former workers, lawsuits, and law enforcement authorities, Ms. Maxwell assisted Mr. Epstein in recruiting masseuses, some of whom were juveniles.
However, during those massages, Mr. Epstein, who committed himself in 2019, was accused of sexually abusing those youngsters. Ms. Maxwell is also accused of assisting in the assault.
In July 2020, Audrey Strauss, the acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the accusations against Ghislaine Maxwell. Credit… Getty Images/Jonathan Eisele/Agence France-Presse
In her federal trial, Ghislaine Maxwell is charged with six counts of facilitating the sexual exploitation of minors for her longtime partner, infamous millionaire and sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
The six charges are based on four accusers’ testimony. The following are the charges:
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Ms. Maxwell is accused of coercing one girl — known as Minor Victim 1 in charge papers — to travel from Florida to New York between 1994 and 1997 to participate in sex activities with Mr. Epstein on one count of solicitation of a minor to travel to engage in criminal sex acts.
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Ms. Maxwell is accused of transporting the same girl from Florida to New York on many times, according to one allegation of transportation of a child with intent to engage in illicit sex acts.
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Ms. Maxwell is charged with one count of sex trafficking of a child, alleging that between 2001 and 2004, she recruited, lured, and transported another girl, designated as Minor Victim 4, to participate in at least one commercial sex act with Mr. Epstein.
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There are another three conspiracy charges, which are linked to the other counts. The indictment’s conspiracy charges are more extensive, encompassing all four accused as well as residences in the United States and London. These allegations allege that Ms. Maxwell collaborated with Mr. Epstein to recruit minor females for sex activities, such as persuading one to massage Mr. Epstein in London between 1994 and 1995.
If found guilty, Ms. Maxwell, 59, may face a significant jail sentence. Conspiracy to conduct underage sex trafficking has a potential penalty of 40 years; the other offenses have maximum sentences of five or ten years.
Ms. Maxwell was charged with two counts of perjury when she was arrested in July 2020, accusing her of lying under oath in 2016 during depositions for a case involving Mr. Epstein. Judge Alison J. Nathan allowed the defense plea to sever the perjury charges, which will be tried separately, in April.
Rebecca Davis O’Brien (Rebecca Davis O’Brien)
On the shore of Little Saint James Island, a section of Jeffery Epstein’s estate. Credit… The New York Times’ Gabriella N. Baez
In a The deadline is March 2020. lawsuit, Ghislaine Maxwell, a former lover and lifelong associate of Jeffrey Epstein, accused him and his estate of failing to honor pledges to pay her legal bills. Since August 2020, the litigation, which was filed in the Superior Court of the US Virgin Islands, seems to have come to a halt.
Mr. Epstein pledged to help Ms. Maxwell financially multiple times, both in writing and in conversation, according to Ms. Maxwell’s claim. She also claimed that Darren Indyke, Mr. Epstein’s longtime lawyer and the executor of his estate, suggested the estate would pay her legal bills.
Her legal bills grew as a number of women accused her of assisting Mr. Epstein in recruiting young women for sex trafficking. She said that the costs had not been paid, and that a letter she had addressed to the estate in November 2019 had gone unanswered.
As opening arguments in Ms. Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial in Manhattan federal court were about to begin on Monday, it was unclear who would foot the price for her defense.
In May 2020, Mr. Indyke and another state executor, Richard D. Kahn, filed a motion requesting the court to dismiss the matter. They cited a provision in the United States Virgin Islands that barred Ms. Maxwell from initiating a lawsuit against the estate until September 2020. Her case was deemed “premature” by them. Ms. Maxwell quickly agreed to put the case on hold until September 2020.
However, officials in the US Virgin Islands tried to interfere in the case in July 2020. They said that Ms. Maxwell had just been detained, and that Mr. Indyke and Mr. Kahn were facing a civil suit accusing them of being involved in Mr. Epstein’s sex-trafficking enterprise. The government’s attorneys argued in court filings that Mr. Epstein’s assets should not be “wrongfully squandered” by Maxwell’s “suspicious statements” about paying her legal bills.
Ms. Maxwell had also defied a subpoena in a Virgin Islands inquiry into whether she had engaged in Mr. Epstein’s sex-trafficking network, according to government attorneys. Her use of the courts was deemed “inappropriate” by them. She has until August 2020 to react to the motion, according to the administration.
However, according to records filed on the case docket, there has been no further development in the matter since August 2020. Since July 2020, Ms. Maxwell has been incarcerated.
The federal courtroom in Lower Manhattan will hear Ghislaine Maxwell’s case. Credit… The New York Times’ Dave Sanders
A science teacher, a real estate broker, two retired judges, and a former personal assistant who reads at least one book a day were among the dozens of potential jurors who appeared in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Monday as jury selection in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial neared its conclusion.
During two-and-a-half days of jury selection earlier this month, a pool of 231 candidates was whittled down to just under five dozen, with prosecutors, Ms. Maxwell, and her lawyers watching as Judge Alison J. Nathan asked each of them a series of questions, including what they knew about Ms. Maxwell and her longtime companion, Jeffrey Epstein, and if that information would affect their ability to be impartial.
Mr. Epstein, a financier who died in a Manhattan detention facility in July 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking allegations, was mentioned by a number of possible jurors. Suicide was eventually determined to be the cause of his death.
Despite this, most people indicated they didn’t know anything about Ms. Maxwell. Some potential jurors informed the court that they had seen her name in connection with Mr. Epstein in headlines, articles, or nightly newscasts, and that they had seen images of them together. While some recalled additional details, such as the nature of the allegations against her, all 58 stated they could disregard what they had heard and determine the case solely on the evidence given at trial.
“It’s my obligation as a citizen to be unbiased,” said one Walgreens manager, 25, who will serve in the jury pool on Monday. “I have to perform my job because this is the foundation of our legal system.”
Ms. Maxwell wrote in her notebook, ran her fingers through her dark hair, and adjusted the collar of her black turtleneck while Judge Nathan questioned the jurors about their education, vocations, and knowledge with names and locations that were expected to come up during the trial. She also placed her arm around her lawyer, Bobbi C. Sternheim, and murmured in her ear from time to time.
Ms. Maxwell hugged each member of her defense team and kissed her sister, Isabel Maxwell, before being led out of the courtroom by two U.S. marshals on the last day of the jury selection process.
The final jury was picked on Monday morning, before to the start of the trial.
Demonstrators outside federal court in Manhattan, where Ghislaine Maxwell’s bail hearing was conducted by video in July. Credit… Associated Press/Bebeto Matthews
The sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s former lover and longterm collaborator, is due to start on Monday. The following are some of the events that lead up to the much-anticipated trial:
7th of July, 2019
Mr. Epstein was apprehended in Teterboro, New Jersey.
Mr. Epstein was charged by federal authorities of participating in unlawful sex activities with kids and women as young as 14.
10th of August, 2019
In his Manhattan detention cell, Mr. Epstein committed himself.
Mr. Epstein committed himself in his Metropolitan Correctional Center detention cell; he was not on suicide watch at the time. On federal sex trafficking allegations, he had just been refused bail.
March 2020
Ms. Maxwell filed a lawsuit against Mr. Epstein’s estate.
Mr. Epstein and Darren Indyke, Mr. Epstein’s longtime lawyer and the executor of his estate, both pledged to pay Ms. Maxwell’s legal bills, according to the complaint, but she claims they haven’t. As other women alleged she assisted Mr. Epstein in recruiting them for sexual activities while they were under the age of 18, her legal expenses grew.
July 2020
Ms. Maxwell was apprehended in the state of New Hampshire.
Ms. Maxwell allegedly recruited three underage victims for unlawful sexual behavior between 1994 and 1997, according to the indictment.
July 2020
Ms. Maxwell has requested a bail of $5 million.
Her attorneys urged a federal court in Manhattan to set a $5 million bail for her release. Prosecutors stated that Ms. Maxwell presented a significant danger of escaping before her trial, therefore Judge Alison J. Nathan of the Federal District Court in Manhattan dismissed the motion.
In December of 2020,
Ms. Maxwell describes prison as “oppressive.”
Ms. Maxwell requested her release once again, this time on a $28.5 million bail, claiming that her Brooklyn prison circumstances were “oppressive.” Prosecutors stated the chances of her fleeing were exceedingly high, thus the request was refused once again. Prosecutors also claimed that her detention circumstances were fair, citing her own shower, phone, and two laptops as examples.
March of the year 2021
Ms. Maxwell is accused of trafficking a 14-year-old girl.
Ms. Maxwell is now accused of grooming a second juvenile, according to a new indictment. She’s accused of sex trafficking a 14-year-old girl who had sexual encounters with Mr. Epstein at his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion.
2021 (November)
Ms. Maxwell will be put on trial.
The date for the first day of arguments has been scheduled for Monday.
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The “ghislaine maxwell opening statements” is a live update on the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell.
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