Ghislaine Maxwell turns 60 behind bars as verdict looms

By LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell reached her 60th day down bars Saturday arsenic she awaited the result of her enactment trafficking trial.

The British socialite is scheduled to instrumentality to a Manhattan courthouse Monday to await connection from a assemblage entering its 3rd afloat time of talks aft proceeding implicit 2 twelve witnesses and viewing dozens of exhibits implicit 3 weeks.

Messages sent to her lawyer and a website wherever items expressing enactment for Maxwell are regularly posted were not returned Saturday.

Prosecutors said successful their closing arguments past Monday that the important grounds was the grounds of 4 women who accidental they were sexually abused arsenic teenagers by financier Jeffrey Epstein with assistance from Maxwell erstwhile she was his girlfriend, and aboriginal erstwhile she morphed into his adjacent confidante and an worker valued highly capable that helium gave her implicit $20 million.

Prosecutors called her the “lady of the house” from 1994 to 2004, saying she recruited and groomed teenagers arsenic young arsenic 14 to conscionable Epstein’s seemingly insatiable request to beryllium touched by susceptible girls who came from impoverished and despairing backgrounds oregon who counted connected his claims of wealthiness and connections to assistance their quests for occurrence and fame successful the show arts.

Defense lawyers, though, accidental she was a U.S. authorities scapegoat aft Epstein killed himself successful the Manhattan national jailhouse compartment wherever helium was awaiting his ain enactment trafficking proceedings successful August 2019. They said the memories of her accusers were corrupted by the transition of clip and the power of lawyers steering them toward multimillion-dollar payouts from a money acceptable up to compensate Epstein victims.

The assemblage already has asked to reappraisal the grounds of the 4 women, on with erstwhile Epstein housekeeper Juan Patricio Alessi, but they person fixed small hint of their wide advancement connected six charges, including a enactment trafficking number that carries a imaginable punishment of up to 40 years successful prison.

Alessi testified that erstwhile helium worked astatine Epstein’s sprawling Florida location from 1990 to 2002, helium saw “many, many, many” pistillate visitors, appearing to beryllium successful their precocious 20s, often lounging topless by the pool. He besides testified that 2 accusers, underage teens astatine the time, were repetition visitors to the Epstein mansion.

Each time of deliberations without a verdict seems to boost the defence team, which is alert that accelerated verdicts astir ever spell successful the government’s favour and that deliberations that agelong retired tin sometimes bespeak dissension oregon disorder among jurors.

On Wednesday, 2 defence lawyers gave each different a high-five.

The deliberations are happening arsenic a question of coronavirus infections fueled by the omicron variant sweeps done New York state, peculiarly terrible wherever jurors live. The anxiousness implicit the dispersed was evident erstwhile U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan asked jurors to deliberate Thursday. They declined.

When she sent them distant Wednesday for the agelong vacation weekend, she told them determination would beryllium caller courthouse protocols Monday to combat the coronavirus, including a request that the astir protective masks beryllium worn. And she offered to springiness them the masks to support themselves and others done the weekend.

“Please enactment harmless implicit the agelong weekend. Obviously we’ve got the variant, and I request each of you present and steadfast connected Monday,” Nathan said. “So delight instrumentality bully attraction and instrumentality cautions.”