Court sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell
(Picture: REUTERS)Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal trial in Manhattan federal court was scheduled to resume on Friday, after proceedings were adjourned on Thursday because a lawyer fell ill.
The adjournment followed emotional testimony earlier in the week from two women who said they were teenagers when Maxwell set them up for abuse by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and other crimes for allegedly recruiting and grooming girls for Epstein and her defence is due to begin soon.
Here are five key moments from this week’s testimony:
- Kate, 44, recalled being 17 when she met Maxwell, who struck her as “everything that I wanted to be.”
She said Maxwell encouraged her to give Epstein massages, which Kate said escalated into sexual activity. After one encounter, Kate said Maxwell told her she was a “good girl.”
“I always felt like she was talking like she was younger than me, which was odd,” Kate said. Kate added Maxwell told her Epstein needed to have sex three times a day.
- Without the jury present, Maxwell lawyer Laura Menninger said prosecutors had told her that Jane - a woman who testified last week that Maxwell groomed her for abuse - called her brother and told him about what she said.
Ms Menninger, who had cross-examined Jane, said Jane had told her brother that Ms Menninger was “an expletive that rhymes with front.”
Carolyn said she told Maxwell about her troubled childhood, including being molested by her grandfather when she was 4, and disclosed to Maxwell that she was 14.
“Money will not ever fix what that woman has done to me,” Carolyn said, sobbing.
- Shawn, a man who dated Carolyn when they were teenagers in Florida, testified he drove Carolyn and other girls to Epstein’s house to give Epstein massages.
