2 years ago
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By Tom Hays | Associated Press
NEW YORK — A green, folding massage array utilized by financier Jeffrey Epstein was brought into a Manhattan courtroom and acceptable up successful beforehand of a assemblage connected Friday to bolster allegations helium teamed up with British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell to sexually exploit underage victims.
The theatrical flourish successful national tribunal successful Manhattan, courtesy of an researcher wearing rubber gloves, was meant to corroborate grounds from a cardinal accuser astatine Maxwell’s ongoing sex-abuse proceedings alleging massages were utilized arsenic a pretense for the intersexual encounters with Epstein that sometimes included Maxwell.
A witnesser who said the maltreatment started erstwhile she was 14 described seeing a massage array successful a “massage room” that constabulary accidental was successful the aforesaid determination wherever they recovered 1 astatine Epstein’s Palm Beach, Florida, mansion successful 2005.
A constabulary serviceman testified that investigators besides seized records, computers and enactment toys — a photograph of which was shown to the assemblage — from the residence.
Prosecutors showed jurors a constabulary videotape of the residence that captured images of nude photos connected the walls – decor that national prosecutors assertion is impervious of a sexualized ambiance encouraged by Maxwell to enactment unit connected the victims.
The grounds was presented implicit defence objections calling it prejudicial. Defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim accused prosecutors of trying to unfairly picture Epstein’s location arsenic a “domicile of debauchery.”
Prosecutors person alleged the British socialite groomed teen girls by taking them connected buying trips and movie outings, talking to them astir their lives and encouraging them to judge fiscal assistance from Epstein. The authorities besides says she helped to make a sexually charged ambiance by talking with the girls astir enactment and instructing them connected the alleged sexualized massages of Epstein.
Maxwell, 59, denies the allegations against her, and her lawyers accidental prosecutors are going aft her due to the fact that they can’t effort Epstein, who committed termination successful jailhouse earlier helium could spell to trial. She was Epstein’s onetime woman and, later, employee.
The accuser, utilizing the pseudonym “Jane” to support her privacy, testified earlier this week that erstwhile she archetypal visited the Epstein location she was disturbed by “some paintings of, like, bare women oregon half-naked women.” In the massage country disconnected of a maestro chamber Epstein and Maxwell shared, the brace were “showing me, you know, what helium likes, what — you know, what men like, what women like.”
Also connected Friday, erstwhile Epstein housekeeper Juan Patricio Alessi returned to the witnesser basal to look cross-examination implicit his grounds that “Jane” and different pistillate who has accused Epstein of sexually abusing her arsenic a teen were repeated visitors astatine the Palm Beach mansion, wherever Maxwell was “the woman of the house.”
A lawyer for Maxwell sought to discredit Alessi — who worked for Epstein from 1990 to 2002 — by confronting him with a deposition from a civilian lawsuit that the defence says was inconsistent with his proceedings testimony.
Alessi claimed connected Friday that nary of the galore young women who visited the Florida location alerted him to immoderate misconduct.
“I privation they would person due to the fact that I would person done something,” helium said.
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