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Court hears four women met Ghislaine Maxwell as teens, accusing her as adults
The jury in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial resumed deliberations for a third day on Wednesday as the socialite faces the possibility of up to 70 years in prison if convicted on all six charges against her.
On Tuesday, jurors requested the transcripts of testimony from women who accused Ms Maxwell of setting them up as teenagers for sexual encounters with financier Jeffrey Epstein. Later they asked for more details related to Carolyn, who said she was 14 in 2002 when Epstein first abused her and that Maxwell once touched her nude body while she prepared to give Epstein an erotic massage.
In a powerful closing for the prosecution on Monday, Assistant US Attorney Alison Moe described Ms Maxwell as a “sophisticated” and “dangerous” predator who targeted vulnerable young girls for Epstein’s benefit.
In closing for the defence, Ms Maxwell’s attorney Laura Menninger sought to distance her from Epstein, saying: “The US presented evidence like a sensational tabloid. These were things that Epstein did, perhaps, his crimes. But Ghislaine Maxwell is not Epstein.”
Recommended Ghislaine Maxwell a ‘dangerous predator’ who had a ‘playbook of abuse’ for vulnerable young girls, prosecutors say Epstein’s island: What really happened there? Ghislaine Maxwell trial: When will we have a verdict? Video released of Epstein mansion raid as closing arguments made in Maxwell trial Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Most explosive revelations from inside the courtroom
Key Points Prosecution’s closing argument: ‘Ghislaine Maxwell was dangerous’ Defence closing argument: ‘Not here to defend Epstein' What four accusers said on the stand When will we get a verdict? Planes, pools and palatial properties: Twelve striking images from the Ghislaine Maxwell trial
Show latest update 1640187625 How long verdict took in other high profile cases
Here’s a look at the length of time juries took to return a verdict in other high profile cases:
Kyle Rittenhouse - It took a Wisconsin jury about 24 hours to acquit Mr Rittenhouse of five charges including first-degree intentional homicide for shooting three people at during racial unrest in Kenosha in November 2021
Derek Chauvin - It took a Minnesota jury just over 10 hours to find Mr Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in May 2021
Harvey Weinstein - A New York jury deliberated for about 26 hours before finding Mr Weinstein on two of five criminal charges in February 2020
Casey Anthony - Florida jurors deliberated for less than 11 hours before acquitting Ms Anthony in the death of her two-year-old daughter Caylee in July 2011
OJ Simpson - A California jury deliberated for less than four hours before acquitting Mr Simpson of murder charges in the death of his estranged wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1995
Ted Bundy - A jury in Utah deliberated for less than seven hours before finding him guilty on two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and two counts of burglary
Charles Manson - Jurors in California deliberated for nearly 43 hours before finding Mr Manson and his followers guilty on 27 counts - including murder and conspiracy - in 1971
Megan Sheets 22 December 2021 15:40
1640185849 What are the charges and what sentence could she face?
A jury is currently deliberating on six charges against Ms Maxwell.
If convicted of the top charge for “sex trafficking of minors”, the socialite could face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. If convicted of all six charges and ordered to serve the sentences consecutively, she could face up to 70 years.
Count 1: Conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts - maximum sentence of five years
Count 2: Enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts - maximum sentence of five years
Count 3: Conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity - maximum sentence of five years
Count 4: Transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity - maximum sentence of 10 years
Count 5: Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors - maximum sentence of five years
Count 6: Sex trafficking of minors - maximum sentence of 40 years
The Independent’s Megan Sheets has the full story:
What are the charges in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex abuse trial? Ghislaine Maxwell charges in sex abuse trial
Megan Sheets 22 December 2021 15:10
1640184034 The verdict sheet
Below is a copy of the verdict sheet that jurors will fill out and return to the court once they reach a consensus:
(Southern District of New York)
(Southern District of New York)
Megan Sheets 22 December 2021 14:40
1640182010 Jury returns for third day of deliberations
Jurors were set to return to the Manhattan federal courthouse at 9am EST on Wednesday to begin their third day of deliberations.
They have already deliberated for about nine hours since receiving the case in full on Monday afternoon.
Megan Sheets 22 December 2021 14:06
1640181018 When will we have a verdict?
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.
Our reporter, Megan Sheets, has the full story below:
Ghislaine Maxwell trial: When will we have a verdict? Maxwell’s case is expected to land in the hands of the jury following closing arguments on Monday
Thomas Kingsley 22 December 2021 13:50
1640174449 Virginia Giuffre’s lawyer suggests calling Meghan Markle to testify in Prince Andrew case
Meghan Markle may be called to depose over legal action against Prince Andrew, said the lawyer of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has accused the prince of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.
Ms Markle could have some “important knowledge,” David Boies, the attorney representing Ms Giuffre, told The Daily Beast on Tuesday.
Mr Boies said he might seek to depose Ms Markle as part of the civil suit slapped against the prince by Ms Giuffre and said he believed Ms Markle could be expected to “tell the truth.”
Our reporter, Maroosha Muzaffar, has the full story below:
Virginia Giuffre’s lawyer says Meghan Markle may testify in Prince Andrew case Meghan Markle ‘is in a position to perhaps have seen what he did,’ says lawyer David Boies
Thomas Kingsley 22 December 2021 12:00
1640172909 Ghislaine Maxwell sex abuse trial jury in New York to resume deliberations
Jurors in British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's sex abuse trial will resume deliberating on Wednesday, having reviewed testimony from women who accused her of setting them up as teenagers for sexual encounters with financier Jeffrey Epstein.
During the three-week trial in New York, the jurors heard emotional and explicit accounts from four women who placed Maxwell at the center of their abuse by Epstein, her former boyfriend and employer who died by suicide in a jail cell in 2019 at the age of 66 while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges.
Thomas Kingsley 22 December 2021 11:35
1640170644 The most explosive revelations from the trial so far
The US federal government’s case against Ms Maxwell, 59, centres around her decades-long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. It alleges she operated as his enabler in luring vulnerable teenage girls with promises of scholarships, attention and financial assistance for their families, and coerced them into becoming objects for his sexual gratification.
This later expanded to a “pyramid scheme of abuse”, according to prosecutors, in which young girls already in Epstein’s orbit would offer to recruit classmates and friends with the promise of easy money.
Ms Maxwell faces six charges: one each of enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking of a minor, and three counts of conspiracy related to the other counts.
Our reporter, Bevan Hurley, has the full report below:
Most explosive revelations from the Ghislaine Maxwell trial Bombshell revelations of Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein’s inner world, a vociferous defence of the maligned socialite have consumed the trial so far, Bevan Hurley writes
Thomas Kingsley 22 December 2021 10:57
1640168303 ICYMI: Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother calls her a ‘survivor’ and suggests she’s a victim of abuse by the media
Ian Maxwell, the brother of Ghislaine Maxwell, has written a column in which he says his sister is a “survivor” as he blasts the media for what he claims is unfair coverage of the British socialite.
Writing in the conservative UK magazine The Spectator, Mr Maxwell stated that all the Maxwell kids “inherited” the “survivor gene” of their father, British newspaper baron Robert Maxwell.
Mr Maxwell wrote that their father was “a man of profound inner sorrow” after “having lost his parents and most of his family in Auschwitz”.
Our reporter, Gustaf Kilander, has the full report below:
Maxwell’s brother calls her a ‘survivor’ and suggests she’s a victim of media abuse Brother writes that authorities ‘targeted’ British socialite ‘fuelled by their shame and fury at losing Epstein in federal custody’
Thomas Kingsley 22 December 2021 10:18
1640165909 Jury asks to review transcripts from three accusers
The jury in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial asked on Tuesday to review transcripts of testimony from three accusers.
Jurors in Manhattan federal court sent the judge a note around 10.10am, saying: “We would like the transcripts, testimony of Jane, Annie and Carolyn.”
Jane, who testified under a pseudonym, said Epstein started to sexually abuse her when she was 14. She told jurors Maxwell was sometimes present for, and participated in, such abuse.
Thomas Kingsley 22 December 2021 09:38
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