The prosecution on Monday called on the jury of a New York court to convict British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell for sex crimes, “a sophisticated predator who knew very well what she was doing”, according to the prosecutor.
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Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, faces a very long prison sentence if the jury, which is due to retire Monday night to deliberate, finds her guilty of providing underage girls to Jeffrey Epstein – a multimillionaire financier of the American jet set- so that he exploits them sexually.
“It is time for her to be held to account,” said prosecutor Alison Moe in her indictment on the last day of a three-week trial.
According to the prosecutor, Ms. Maxwell was “the key” to the system put in place by Jeffrey Epstein to recruit young girls whom he sexually abused.
“They carried out their misdeeds together”, launched the prosecutor to the jury. “Out of sight (…) they were committing horrible crimes.”
Since the start of the hearings on November 29, prosecutors have sought to portray this Briton – who also has American and French nationality – as the accomplice between 1994 and 2004 of Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison two years earlier, awaiting his own trial.
In the Manhattan federal court room, Ghislaine Maxwell, dressed in a cream-white sweater and wearing a black mask, would often take notes that she passed to her attorneys or pasted on a file, while the prosecutor ensured that she was “guilty”.
Over the weeks of the trial, four women have testified against the daughter of former media mogul Robert Maxwell.
Two of the witnesses thus affirmed that they were not more than 14 years old when Ghislaine Maxwell had encouraged them to lavish massages on Jeffrey Epstein, these ending in sexual acts.
One of them, known by the pseudonym “Jane”, detailed how Ghislaine Maxwell recruited her to a summer camp and made her feel “special”.
“Jane” also recounted how encounters and sex acts with Jeffrey Epstein had become routine, with Ghislaine Maxwell sometimes present.
Another witness, “Carolyn,” said she was usually paid $ 300 after each sexual encounter with Jeffrey Epstein, and that Ghislaine Maxwell often gave the money herself.
In its argument Monday afternoon, the defense pointed to “the lack of evidence” of the prosecution and focused its line of defense on “the very poor and variable memory” of witnesses on events more than 25 years old.
“There is no evidence that Ghislaine Maxwell has coaxed one of the four” women, who were then young girls, launched the lawyer Laura Meninger to the jurors.
These four witnesses “all changed their version when the Epstein fund was opened,” she said, referring to an official mechanism for reparation drawn from the fortune of the billionaire after his death.
The defense lawyer asked jurors to acquit his client on all counts.
Ghislaine Maxwell refused to testify at her trial, merely stating that the prosecution had not proven her guilt.
“Your honor, the prosecution has not provided evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, so I do not need to testify,” she said Friday.
The trial was expected to go until January, but Ghislaine Maxwell could now know her fate before December 25, her 60th birthday.
If the jury does not reach a verdict by Wednesday night, they will go their separate ways for the Christmas weekend before meeting again on Monday, December 27.
The jury must reach a unanimous decision to find Ghislaine Maxwell guilty. If not, then Judge Alison Nathan could cancel the trial which should start from scratch.
Ghislaine Maxwell pleads not guilty to all counts for which she faces up to 80 years in prison, including a maximum of 40 years for trafficking in minors.
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