Maxwell Trial
From the internet, excerpts:
Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Key moments from the first week...
In her opening statement on Monday, prosecutor Lara Pomerantz called Ms Maxwell a predator who recruited and groomed underage girls for her long-term companion Epstein to abuse. "She preyed on vulnerable young girls, manipulated them, and served them up to be sexually abused," the prosecutor said. Ms Maxwell and Epstein were said to be "partners in crime" in the abuse.
But the defence said Ms Maxwell was being scapegoated because Epstein was no longer alive. "The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, but she is not Jeffrey Epstein," her lawyer Bobbi Sternheim argued.
On Tuesday, the trial's first witness, Epstein's long-time personal pilot Larry Visoski, told the court he flew VIPs to luxury locations worldwide.
Mr Visoski recalled flying Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. None of them are accused of criminal wrongdoing.
Asked to describe Ms Maxwell's standing in Epstein's operations, Mr Visoski described her as "the number two". "Epstein was the big number one," he told the court.
The first of four Maxwell accusers to give evidence at the trial cried as she described being sexually abused by Epstein when she was 14. The woman, using the pseudonym Jane, said Ms Maxwell showed her how Epstein liked to be massaged, and sometimes took part in their sexual encounters.
"Ghislaine was very casual, acting like it wasn't a big deal," Jane said. But on Wednesday, Ms Maxwell's defence sought to find inconsistencies in Jane's testimony.
Defence lawyer Laura Menninger pointed out that Jane now worked as an actress. "You are an actor who convincingly portrays someone else for a living," the lawyer stated. "You are able to cry on command."
On Thursday, Epstein's former housekeeper Juan Alessi recalled how Ms Maxwell had tightly controlled every detail in the financier's Florida mansion. Ms Maxwell was the "lady of the house", ordering staff to speak only when spoken to and to avoid eye contact with Epstein, according to Mr Alessi, who said his job included cleaning their sex toys. He said staff were given a 58-page instruction manual, warning them to keep Epstein's and Ms Maxwell's activities or whereabouts secret. "I was supposed to be blind, deaf and dumb," Mr Alessi told the court.
Prosecutors have alleged that Epstein used massages as a "ruse" before escalating his encounters with young girls.