The jury in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial entered its third day of deliberation on Wednesday, with a verdict expected to come by the end of the week.
The socialite and alleged madam for Jeffrey Epstein has pleaded not guilty to six federal charges, including one for sex trafficking of a minor and one for sex trafficking conspiracy.
The four other charges related to the Mann Act, which bars transporting individuals across state lines for illegal sexual activity.
The government called a slew of witnesses over 10 days of testimony, including four women who alleged they were sexually abused by Epstein.
In closing for the prosecution on Monday, Assistant US Attorney Alison Moe said: “Maxwell ran the same playbook again and again. She groomed them. She caused deep and lasting harm to young girls. It is time to hold her accountable.”
The defence presented only a handful of witnesses over two days of testimony, including one former assistant who said she had never seen Ms Maxwell or Epstein engage in inappropriate behaviour with girls.
Ms Maxwell refused to take the stand in her own defence, telling US District Judge Alison Nathan on 17 December: “Your honour, the government has not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and so there’s no reason for me to testify.”
Closing for the defence, Ms Maxwell’s attorney Laura Menninger told the jury: “I am not here to defend Jeffrey Epstein. He is not my client.
“The US presented evidence like a sensational tabloid. These were things that Epstein did, perhaps, his crimes. But Ghislaine Maxwell is not Epstein.”
Ms Menninger highlighted the “37,000 photos” not presented by the prosecution as she argued that the evidence had been tailored to paint Ms Maxwell in the worst possible light.
She also argued that witnesses called by the state had been “manipulated” into fitting a broader narrative.
It’s impossible to say how long the jury will take to come to a verdict on each of the six charges.
However, experts have speculated that jurors will aim to have the trial wrapped up by the end of the week before Christmas arrives.
By the end of the second day of deliberation on Tuesday, jurors had submitted four notes to the judge.
The final note read out just before 5pm could signal that significant progress has already been made, asking whether testimony from accuser Annie Farmer can apply to two charges of conspiracy.
Jurors asked to deliberate from 9am to 4.30pm on Wednesday and Judge Nathan said they can continue into Thursday if necessary.
