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Re: EPSTEIN: Maxwell TRIAL-Ghislaine Was in Room When Epstein Sexually Abused Me-I Wa
Ghislaine Maxwell Sex Trafficking Trial - First of Four Accusers Takes The Stand
Ghislaine Maxwell was in the room when Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused me when I was 14, sobbing accuser tells trial
Ghislaine Maxwell victim saw Prince Andrew on Lolita Express with Jeffrey Epstein and she
mentioned names such as.... Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
The Duke of York, Prince Andrew, has been under fire for his close ties to the paedophile, who committed suicide in August 2019 as he awaited trial for sex trafficking
The SUN UK, 2 DEC 2021.
'Jane' sobs in court as she speaks about the alleged abuse by Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein4
GHISLAINE Maxwell was in the room when Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused a 14-year-old girl, a court heard.
The first of four accusers took to the stand on Tuesday in New York as Maxwell faces six charges of sexual abuse and trafficking over her alleged role with Epstein.
Epstein was a multimillionaire sex offender who allegedly used his wealth and influence to construct a web of sexual slavery - with Maxwell as his "madam".
She faces charges relating to four victims, with the first - speaking under pseudonym "Jane" - appearing today at the courthouse in New York.
Jane claimed that she was just 14 when Epstein first sexually abused her - and said Maxwell was in the room at the time.
The alleged victim said she was "frozen in fear" having never seen a penis before.
She claimed that Maxwell would also instruct her how to give Epstein sexual massages and sometimes physically participated in the encounters.
And at one point during her testimony, Jane started to sob.
Maxwell denies all charges - and her lawyers claim she is being made a "scapegoat" after Epstein's death.
Jane said she first met Epstein and Maxwell in 1994 when she was attending a music camp in pursuit of a singing career, she said.
She said she was eating ice cream with friends when Maxwell approached with a Yorkshire Terrier, drawing their attention.
After her friends left, she spoke with Epstein, who had then arrived and introduced himself as a donor.
They discovered that they both lived in Palm Beach, Florida, she said.
The woman and her mother soon received an invitation to Epstein’s home
Her mother wasn’t included in subsequent invites but she remained very impressed with the wealth and status of Epstein and Maxwell.
She told the court her mother believed the pair must really thought daughter was special, the woman testified.
Soon, Epstein and Maxwell were taking her shopping for clothes, including underwear from Victoria’s Secret and she told the court: ... "I felt special."
FELT ASHAMED
But the cycle of abuse started when Epstein abruptly took her by hand one day and said “follow me” before taking her to a pool house at the home.
She said that he removed his trousers, pulled her close to him and began performing a sex act.
“I was terrified and felt gross and I felt ashamed,” she said.
Jane told the court she was subjected to abuse "every time" she visited his house.
Sometimes she would be made to participate in an "orgy", she said.
And on one occasion she watched as Epstein fondled himself as Ghislaine "rubbed" and "kissed" him, the court heard.
"She was very casual, like this was entirely normal. I was confused. When you are 14 you have no idea what is going on," she said.
She also claimed on one occasion she saw Maxwell and four other women topless by a pool.
And in another instance she was brought up to Epstein's bedroom at his mansion in Palm Beach.
"They moved me over to the bed and took their clothes off. And they started to sort of like fondle each other," she said.
"They asked me to take my top off. Then there were hands everywhere."
Epstein would like to massaged "hard" - including acts like "twisting his nipples", she added.
When you are 14 you have no idea what is going on > Jane
She said sexual encounters became routine after that with Maxwell sometimes present.
Maxwell would instruct Jane on "how Jeffrey likes to be massaged".
He would pay for things for Jane, such as clothes and singing lessons, the court heard.
And the couple would allegedly talk about their high profile social circle, mentioning names such as Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
But defence lawyer Laura Menninger immediately attacked the witness's credibility.
The lawyer wondered why she waited over 20 years to report the alleged abuse by Maxwell to law enforcement.
She also asked why she brought two personal injury lawyers along to her first meeting with the FBI.
VERY CASUAL
Menninger also asked if it was true she had previously spoken to her siblings and others close to her about Epstein’s behavior, but left Maxwell out of the earlier accounts.
“You never mentioned Ghislaine Maxwell?” the lawyer asked.
Under cross examination from Menninger, the woman admitted she was awarded $5 million from a fund set up to compensate Epstein’s victims.
Testimony from Epstein's pilot earlier in the day saw the two former US Presidents named as passengers on the multimillionaire's private jet, along with Prince Andrew.
Jane claimed she travelled with the couple and visited properties in New York and New Mexico with flights on his private jet.
Maxwell first appeared in court this morning just after 8.30am wearing a mask, a beige turtleneck sweater and black slacks while cradling a lime green folder.
She waved to her sister Isabel who is in court to support her - and was also seen taking notes and passing them to her lawyers.
Prosecutors argue Maxwell "served up" young girls to Epstein as part of a pyramid scheme of abuse as she appeared in court in New York.
Epstein and Maxwell were described by prosecutors as 'partners in crime'
Epstein and Maxwell rubbed shoulders with the world's rich and famous - allegedly hiding in plain sight amid a web of sordid sex abuse.
She was a close friend of Prince Andrew, allegedly being the one who introduced him to Epstein.
Her lawyer Bobbi Sternheim claimed "ever since Eve, women have been blamed for the evil deeds of men".
She said: "Ghislaine Maxwell is not Jeffrey Epstein or any of the other men, moguls and media giants who abuse women."
The defence are expected to hinge much of their case on going after the victims.
However, the prosecution paint a very different picture of Ghislaine as instrumental in Epstein's web of money, sex and lies.
Lawyers called the 59-year-old Brit heiress a "dangerous predator" and said she and Epstein were “partners in crime”.
Maxwells' Charges:
GHISLAINE Maxwell faces six charges over her alleged involvement with Jeffrey Epstein: ...
Conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts
Enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex
Conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
Transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
Sex trafficking conspiracy
Sex trafficking of a minor
Maxwell is alleged to have snared girls as young as 14 into a "nightmare" after promising them "the world".
She is accused of walking girls into Epstein's liar where she watched as he molested them - and sometimes even joined in.
Convicted sex offender Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial for further sex trafficking charges in August 2019.
She also faces two other charges of perjury over allegations she lied in a deposition in a separate civil suit, but these will be tried separately.
Maxwell was arrested suddenly in July 2020 - and has been held in prison ever since as she was deemed a flight risk.
MORE:
Ghislaine Maxwell Victim Saw Prince Andrew on Lolita Express With Jeffrey Epstein....
Daily Mirror 2 DEC 2021.
A woman who has accused Ghislaine Maxwell of grooming her to be abused by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein once took a flight with Prince Andrew, a court has heard.
The victim, known in court as “Jane’, was asked about her time on board the late billionaire’s private jet nicknamed the ‘Lolita Express'.
Cross-examined by defence counsel for Maxwell during the British socialite's sex abuse case, attorney Laura Menninger said: “Do you remember Prince Andrew being on a flight with you?”
Jane replied: “Yes”.
Today's testimony is the first time an alleged victim who witnessed the Duke of York, 61, on an Epstein flight has appeared before a jury.
Epstein had a jet nicknamed "the Lolita Express" ( Image:PA)
The flight, which 'Jane' is listed as being on board with Andrew was when she 20-years-old flying from the billionaire's ranch in New Mexico to his home in Palm Beach.
The Duke has been under fire for his close ties to the late paedophile, who committed suicide in August 2019 as he awaited trial for sex trafficking.
Andrew is also facing a lawsuit from Virginia Giuffre, who claims Epstein and Maxwell made her have sex with the UK royal three times, starting in 2001 when she was 17.
The royal has emphatically denied the allegations and any wrongdoing.
Jane, whose identity is protected, testified to the flights she made aboard the paedophile’s private jet claiming she was trafficked across the States to be abused by the American financier.
The victim, who claims she first met Maxwell and Epstein at the Interlochen Music Camp in Michigan when she was 14-years-old, also alleged she was introduced to Donald Trump before he was President.
Defence lawyer Laura Menninger questions witness "Jane" in court ( Image:REUTERS)
She said Epstein took her to the businessman's Mar-a-Lago resort when she was a teenager.
The woman said she was driven to Trump’s Palm Beach estate in a dark green car when she was 14 in 1994.
During cross-examination, Jane made it clear in one answer she was never asked or ordered to have sex with any of Epstein’s powerful friends.
Maxwell's youngest alleged victim earlier told the Lower Manhattan Court she does "not believe I have come up with a memory" of the British socialite being involved in sexual abuse after her testimony was challenged,
The witness was forced to deny inventing a memory in the last two years of her first meeting with the defendant.
Maxwell, who was described as "dangerous" during the opening statements of the trial, is accused of preying on vulnerable young girls and luring them to massage rooms to be molested by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein between 1994 and 2004.
Jane told the court on Tuesday she had been summoned to an orgy by Maxwell and Epstein at the age of 14, which had left her "frozen with fear".
During cross-examination yesterday, Ms Menninger said: "It is true that you do not recall Ghislaine ever touching you."
"That's not true," Jane replied.
On Tuesday, Jane said she did not tell anybody about any abuse because she was "terrified" and "felt gross and ashamed".
Ghislaine Maxwell speaks with her brother Kevin while in court ( Image:REUTERS)
She also told jurors Epstein used sex toys on her "even though it hurt", and he and Maxwell fondled each other while "casually giggling" in front of the teenager.
Ms Menninger said: "You spoke to the government in December 2019 with your lawyers there and you told them at that time that you were not sure whether Maxwell ever touched you during these encounters."
"I don't recall," the witness replied.
"You told the Government you were not sure if Ghislaine ever kissed you."
"I don't recall."
"You told the Government you had no memory of Ghislaine being present when you claim Epstein engaged in any sexual contact, correct?"
"I don't recall."
"As you sit here today, you are not sure you were ever alone in a room with Ghislaine and Epstein, correct?"
"No."
Jane told the court it was correct to say Maxwell never watched her perform oral sex on Epstein.
Asked if she had come up with a memory of Maxwell being involved in any sexual encounters, Jane said: "I don't believe I have come up with a memory, no."
Before day three of her trial, Maxwell entered the courtroom and nodded at her sister Isabel and brother Kevin, sitting in the front row of the public gallery.
Wearing a charcoal grey jumper and a black face mask, she had separate conversations with both siblings as they leaned over the bench in front of them.
Maxwell embraced her counsel a number of times before the beginning of the court session and took a number of sips from her water bottle.
The full indictment against her lists six charges: conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; sex trafficking conspiracy; and sex trafficking of a minor.
Maxwell, who has been held in a US jail since her arrest in July last year, denies all charges.
If convicted she faces up to 70 years in prison.
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