Protesters rally to support accusers Jeffery Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in New York. The prosecution took a leave of absence against Maxwell Friday; The trial will resume next Thursday.
Yuki Iwamura / AFP via Getty Images
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Yuki Iwamura / AFP via Getty Images
Protesters rally to support accusers Jeffery Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in New York. The prosecution took a leave of absence against Maxwell Friday; The trial will resume next Thursday.
Yuki Iwamura / AFP via Getty Images
Prosecutors halted the case today in a trial against Ghislaine Maxwell, the British social media site accused of aiding financier Jeffrey Epstein in the sexual exploitation of minors.
When opening the document started two weeks agoThe trial is expected to last up to six weeks. That timeline may now increase.
Here is the latest information:
The fourth and final accuser takes a stance
The prosecution ended the case after the fourth accuser in the trial, Annie Farmer, took a stand. Farmer, the first accuser to use her real name instead of a pseudonym in court, said that in the 1990s her sister, Maria, was an employee for Epstein in New York City. Maria is an aspiring artist who met Epstein at a gig. He was interested in helping her career, and ended up hiring her to buy art for him.
Annie Farmer told the jury she met Epstein in 1995 and that he was also interested in enhancing her education. He offered to buy her a plane ticket from Arizona to visit New York.
It’s a story that the jury heard many times during this trial: all of the women who spoke against Maxwell said that she and Epstein initially expressed an interest in helping to advance their education. their careers and careers, before redirecting their relationship to sex.
The farmer said She and her sister reported Epstein’s sexual abuse to New York police and the FBI in 1996. Both sisters say there was no surveillance at the time.
Grooming
The focus in this case is on the concept of ‘grooming’: psychologically preparing someone for sexual abuse.
All four women who have testified to date say that Maxwell facilitated Epstein’s abuse, by creating trust (at least one woman described Maxwell as a sister); create a comfortable, fun environment that becomes increasingly sexual; arrange visits; and even engage in sexual abuse on their own.
Some women also described being in life situations that made them particularly vulnerable. One witness spoke of the recent loss of a father; another just moved in and said she had few friends.
The infamous ‘little black book’
One of the big quirks in this case is an address book filled with Jeffrey Epstein’s contacts. Witnesses say this is where Epstein stored the names of the girls who gave him massages. Featuring powerful and well-known men in Epstein’s social circles, this “little black book,” as it was referred to, attracted intense interest from those who followed the case.
Last week, witness Juan Alessi, a former manager of Epstein’s house, said there were several such books around the house, with hundreds of names in each. He said he frequently saw Maxwell use them to schedule Epstein massages or arrange girls’ visits.
The defense argued that there was no evidence that all of those cases were related to the same book.
On Thursday, US District Judge Alison Nathan ruled that the contact book could be introduced in the trial. That doesn’t mean the evidence will be made public: during the negotiations, the prosecution and defense agreed to only present excerpts from the book.
What’s next?
The defense is expected to begin the case next week – the court said the trial will resume on Thursday. It remains an open question as to whether Maxwell will stand.
