In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell, left, sits at the defense table with defense attorney Jeffrey Pagliuca while listening to testimony during her sex abuse trial on December 16, 2021 , in New York.
Elizabeth Williams / AP
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Elizabeth Williams / AP
In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell, left, sits at the defense table with defense attorney Jeffrey Pagliuca while listening to testimony during her sex abuse trial on December 16, 2021 , in New York.
Elizabeth Williams / AP
NEW YORK – Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial quickly ended Monday with a prosecutor labeling her a dangerous and sophisticated predator who recruited and groomed underage girls. was sexually abused by financier Jeffrey Epstein while a defense attorney told jurors during the conclusion of the argument that Maxwell was an “innocent woman.”
Assistant US Attorney Alison Moe said Epstein could not have preyed on teenage girls for more than a decade without the help of the British social media site, who she describes as “my lady.” home” when Epstein abused girls at a mansion in New York, Florida. estate and a ranch in New Mexico.
“Ghislaine Maxwell is very dangerous,” Moe told jurors, saying that Maxwell received more than $30 million from Epstein over the years. “Maxwell and Epstein committed horrific crimes.”
Defense attorney Laura Menninger said prosecutors had failed to prove any of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Ghislaine Maxwell is an innocent woman, unjustly accused of crimes she didn’t commit,” Menninger said.
That description contradicts Moe’s description of Maxwell as a “sophisticated predator who knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s been running over and over in the same playbook.”
“She manipulated her victims and groomed them,” Moe said. “She caused deep and lasting harm to young girls. It’s time to hold her accountable.”
The summaries were released at the beginning of the fourth week of the trial, which was originally scheduled to last six weeks. With the New York coronavirus outbreak worsening and the holiday weekend approaching, Judge Alison J. Nathan urged attorneys to keep the closure private so the jury can begin deliberations as early as possible. in Monday.
The end of Menninger’s trial left defense attorneys on the subject of duress at the start of the trial: that Maxwell was made a scapegoat after Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan federal prison last month. August 2019 as he awaits a sex trafficking trial.
“Ghislaine Maxwell is not Jeffrey Epstein,” Menninger said.
Maxwell, 59, was supported in court by four siblings who sat side by side in the front row of the audience.
Maxwell has been jailed without bail since her arrest in July 2020. The judge has repeatedly denied her bail, despite her attorney’s argument that the pledge was worth 22 dollars. Her $0.5 million and armed bodyguards’ willingness to watch 24 hours a day will guarantee her arrival. in court.
The closing came after two dozen prosecution witnesses testified, including four women who said they were abused by Epstein with the help of Maxwell when they were teenagers.
Moe faced the jury as Maxwell, in a white sweater, sat behind her at the defense desk and wrote notes, occasionally turning the pages of a notebook. Then, Maxwell turned his chair toward the jury, occasionally pulling down his black mask to sip from a water bottle.
Prosecutors told jurors that Maxwell was a “chic, laughable woman of age” who covered up Epstein’s “scary” behavior.
She asked them to ignore the testimony of a psychology professor who testified in the defense, saying that memory can fade over time and be affected by what people hear, see or read. is a “complete distraction.”
“These women know what happened to their bodies,” she said. “Your common sense tells you that being sexually harassed is something you’ll never forget.”
But Menninger defended the memory expert’s testimony, citing instances where Maxwell’s accusers never mentioned defendants by name when they first spoke of the abuse they had endured from Epstein.
She said the whistleblower’s testimony was manipulated by civil attorneys representing them as they pursued a multi-million dollar payment from a special fund set up after Epstein killed himself to compensate. for its victims.
Menninger said the women suddenly “restored the memory that Ghislaine was there.”
