Long-time confidante of US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, has denied the prosecutor’s allegations. At the same time, she refused to testify in court on Friday. The charges are “not beyond doubt, so there is no reason for me to testify,” said Maxwell when she made her first appearance since the trial began in late November.
Maxwell is accused of recruiting young girls to have sex with Epstein on six occasions.
The defense had finished its evidence on Friday after less than two days of negotiations. Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday. The jury will then withdraw to reach a verdict. This means that the process, originally scheduled for six weeks, could end before Christmas.
It took the prosecution only ten days to question their witnesses. Two women testified they were only 14 years old when Maxwell approached them and referred them to Epstein for massages that resulted in sexual acts. The alleged crimes took place between 1994 and 2004.
Maxwell’s defense challenged women’s memory. Of 35 own witnesses announced, the lawyers only called nine in the end after many were not available to testify.
Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 and has been in custody ever since. She rejects all allegations. If convicted, the daughter of British media mogul Robert Maxwell faces decades of imprisonment. Epstein, who had previously been convicted of sex crimes, was found dead in his Manhattan prison cell in August 2019 after being arrested again. According to the authorities, he committed suicide.