A jury is currently deliberating on six charges in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite accused of recruiting and grooming girls for deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein to abuse.

       If convicted of the top charge for “sex trafficking of minors”, Ms Maxwell could face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

       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 Mann Act charges

       Prosecutors say Ms Maxwell between 1994 and 1997 persuaded an underaged girl to travel from Florida to New York with the intention of having her engage in sexual activity with Epstein. In 1996, prosecutors say Ms Maxwell gave an unsolicited massage to another minor girl who flew to Epstein’s New Mexico ranch from out-of-state while the girl was topless.

       Ms Maxwell is charged with two counts of violating the Mann Act, which bars transporting individuals across state lines for illegal sexual activity.

       She also two faces charges of conspiring to violate those two sections of the Mann Act.

       Recommended Ghislaine Maxwell trial - live: Assistant says Epstein had butter, sand and palm trees shipped to own island Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Most explosive revelations so far from inside the courtroom From Trump to Prince Andrew: All the famous names embroiled in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial

       The sex trafficking charges

       Prosecutors also say that Ms Maxwell, beginning in 2001, recruited one of the four alleged victims to engage in sex acts with Epstein and provided her with hundreds of dollars in cash after massaging Epstein, knowing she was a minor. Ms Maxwell sent gifts including lingerie from a New York address to the girl’s home in Florida, according to a 2021 indictment.

       Those allegations form the basis of charges of one charge of sex trafficking of a minor and one charge of sex trafficking conspiracy. Federal law bars recruiting or transporting anyone under 18 to participate in a “commercial sex act.” The trafficking charge does not require the child to be transported across state lines.

       Follow live updates on the Ghislaine Maxwell trial

       Maxwell’s defence

       Ms Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. Over two days of testimony, her lawyers argued that prosecutors are treating her as a scapegoat for Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges.

       Her attorneys say that the alleged sex trafficking victim did not mention Ms Maxwell while cooperating with a 2007 investigation by Florida federal prosecutors into Epstein. They have argued that all four women named in the indictment have financial incentives to lie or exaggerate about Ms Maxwell’s involvement in the alleged abuse.

       The perjury charges

       Ms Maxwell faces two charges of perjury that will be tried at a later date.

       Prosecutors have accused Ms Maxwell of lying under oath in 2016 during a deposition for a civil lawsuit brought against her by Virginia Giuffre, who says she was abused by Epstein while a minor. Ms Giuffre alleged Ms Maxwell had defamed her by saying Ms Giuffre lied about the abuse.

       In the 2016 deposition, Ms Maxwell said she did not recall the presence of sex toys in Epstein’s Palm Beach house and replied “I don’t know what you’re talking about” when asked if Epstein had a scheme to recruit underage girls for sexual massages.

       Prosecutors characterised these statements as “false material declarations” in violation of a federal statute making it a crime to lie under oath. Her lawyers said in a February 2021 court filing that the questions posed were ambiguous and that Ms Maxwell gave truthful responses.

       Reuters