NewsTrial against Ghislaine Maxwell - Plaintiff: "They were friends...

Trial against Ghislaine Maxwell – Plaintiff: "They were friends with everyone"

The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell continues: Epstein and his former partner are said to have constantly given their status – and friends like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.

Update from Thursday, December 2nd, 2021, 3:35 p.m.: Ghislaine Maxwell is accused of having recruited minors for Jeffrey Epstein for years, whom he then abused. You served Epstein minors for “sexual abuse,” said the prosecutor at the start of the trial. The first main witness testified on Wednesday – under the pseudonym “Jane”.

Jane claims that her first meeting with Epstein and Maxwell was harmless and even friendly. She was only 14 years old. “From the start, they bragged a lot about being pretty much friends with everyone,” said Jane. If Bill Clinton or Donald Trump were on the phone, Epstein and Maxwell would have turned them up so Jane could hear them. Epstein would have regularly brought up his wide-ranging connections before allegedly sexually abusing Jane for the first time. She remembers his words: “I know all the agents, all the photographers, the owner of Victoria’s Secret.”

Once, Maxwell and Epstein are said to have laughed together when they allegedly sexually abused Jane. “It was all very carefree, like it was normal and not a big deal,” she says.

At the end of the day of the trial, Maxwell’s defense attorney Laura Menninger began to question Jane Doe – and immediately indicated which strategy can be expected in the next few days. Menninger asked her why she waited 20 years to come to light with the allegations.

In dieser Skizze des Gerichtssaals sitzt Ghislaine Maxwell am Tisch der Verteidigung, während sie die Zeugenaussagen während ihres Prozesses verfolgt.

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In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell sits at the defense table as she watches testimony during her trial.

Ghislaine Maxwell trial: plaintiff testifies

Update from Wednesday, December 1st, 2021, 10:35 p.m.: In the trial against Jeffrey Epstein’s confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, one of the accusers testified. On Wednesday (December 1st, 2021) the anonymous woman called Jane Doe was on the witness stand. Doe accuses Maxwell and Eppstein of raping her on multiple occasions in 2008. In the interrogation, she now named many more names, as the news portal Daily Beast reported.

After Jeffrey Epstein’s private pilot testified on Tuesday that he saw celebrities like Prince Andrew on the billionaire’s plane, Maxwell’s lawyer also asked Jane Doe about it. She could not remember either Prince Andrew or members of Epstein’s family. Instead, the plaintiff said a number of women were involved in the rapes.

Maxwell Trial: Plaintiff links Jeffrey Epstein to Donald Trump

On the witness stand, Jane Doe remembered a woman named Sophie, a massage therapist who is said to have participated in Epstein’s orgies. The plaintiff also named Emmy, Eva, Michelle Short and Kelly, although it is not clear who the women are.

Doe also reiterated her earlier statement that she met former US President Donald Trump through Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell. He was also mentioned by the pilot in connection with Epstein.

Gerichtszeichnung aus dem Maxwell-Prozess

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Court drawing from the trial of Jeffrey Epstein’s confidante Ghislaine Maxwell. The plaintiff Jane Doe was interrogated by Maxwell’s lawyer on Wednesday (December 1, 2021).

Epstein’s private pilot testifies in the Maxwell trial: Donald Trump is also among his guests

First report from December 1, 2021, 2:07 p.m .: New York – Jeffrey Epstein’s long-time pilot Larry Visoski gave testimony on Tuesday (November 30, 2021) in the trial against Epstein’s former business partner Ghislaine Maxwell for sex trafficking on the witness stand. The US judiciary accuses Maxwell of having recruited minors for Epstein for years, who were then abused by the financial investor – allegedly on his plane, among other things.

However, he never saw underage girls on the plane, said Visoski, according to the BBC. When asked how to describe Maxwell’s relationship with Epstein, he said it was “more personal than business,” but not of a romantic nature.

Visoski not only spoke about Maxwell on the witness stand, but also brought the names of many other celebrities into play, whom he said he had flown around the world in Epstein’s private plane. Including the former US Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, the actor Kevin Spacey and Prince Andrew. Spacey and Prince Andrew are also accused of sexual abuse in other contexts.

Ghislaine Maxwell: Minor Abuse Trial

The court case against Maxwell started on Monday (November 29th, 2021) in New York. At the start of the trial, the prosecutor had described Maxwell as a “dangerous” woman who Epstein had served minors for “sexual abuse,” according to Agence France-Press. Maxwell is charged with sex trafficking on six counts. The indictment covers the period from 1994 to 2004.

Ghislaine Maxwell Businesswoman, former business partner of Jeffrey Epstein
Born: December 25, 1961 (age 59), Maisons-Laffitte, France

In the process, the public prosecutor relies on four main witnesses. The first main witness with the pseudonym “Jane” testified on the second day of the trial against Epstein’s confidante Ghislaine Maxwell. The 59-year-old was sometimes present and actively engaged in sexual acts when she was abused by Epstein, the witness said.

As a witness in the abuse trial: Epstein’s pilot testifies against Ghislaine Maxwell

“Jane” is said to have been 14 years old when she is said to have met Epstein and Maxwell. At that time, she attended a summer camp for girls at an art academy in Michigan. Epstein is said to have been introduced to her as a wealthy donor and to have promised to fund her education. A few months earlier, her father had died and the family had lost their home. Epstein later invited her to his home in Florida, where she often met Maxwell. The financial investor gave her money to support her mother. She also reported on shopping trips and cinema visits with Maxwell, according to Agence France-Press. The first abuses are said to have occurred during this time.

In the 1990s, Epstein is said to have flown at least once a year with his pilot to Traverse City, where he visited the said camp every summer and stayed there in his hut, according to Visoski, according to the American news portal Daily Beast. The hut is said to have been built near the accommodation at the summer camp, where Epstein offered scholarships for schoolgirls.

Ghislaine Maxwell. (Archivbild)

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Ghislaine Maxwell. (Archive image)

Pilot on first main witness in the sex trafficking process – “Jane” seemed to him to be an adult

According to his own statement, Visoski remembers the witness. He is said to have picked up luggage from summer camp before a flight from Traverse City (Michigan) and later met her in Palm Beach, where she was introduced to him by Epstein as a “singer”, according to Daily Beast. According to the pilot, he never knew the age of the passengers. However, he always believed that they were adults. “I haven’t noticed anyone of a younger nature without an adult or parent,” Visoski testified. “I didn’t know the exact age of anyone.” When Assistant Attorney General Maureen Comey asked for “Jane”, Visoski replied that she was “a mature woman with piercing powder blue eyes”.

In over 25 years as Epstein’s pilot, he had never seen sexual activity during the flights, Visoski said. The cockpit door during the flights with the plane, which was nicknamed “Lolita Express”, was always closed.

Jeffrey Epstein Investment banker and convicted sex offender
Born: January 20, 1953, Brooklyn, New York City, USA
Died: August 10, 2019, Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City, USA

Sexual abuse: The plaintiff against Prince Andrew is also said to have been on board

The pilot also recalled flying with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the BBC reported. The American is one of the plaintiffs against Prince Andrew in the case of sexual abuse of young people. At the time of the crime, she is said to have been 17 years old. Queen Elizabeth’s 61-year-old son has denied the abuse allegations. The hearing against Prince Andrew was postponed in October.

When asked whether he remembered Giuffre, Visoski said: “Yes. A smaller woman with blonde hair. She didn’t look young. I mean, the definition of young is whatever you make of it. But she was a woman in my category ”.

Eine Skizze des Gerichtssaals in New York während des Prozesses gegen Ghislaine Maxwell, auf der die Hauptverteidigerin von Maxwell, Bobbi Sternheim, ein Eröffnungsplädoyer hält.

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A sketch of the New York courtroom during the Ghislaine Maxwell trial with Maxwell’s principal defender, Bobbi Sternheim, making an opening statement.

Ghislaine Maxwell abuse lawsuit: Flight planning by Jeffrey Epstein’s assistants

Visoski told the New York Daily News that he flew Epstein regularly to his private Caribbean island of Little St. James from 1991 until his arrest and suicide in 2019. Epstein often nicknamed the island, Little St. Jeff’s. “Every week to every 10 days, if we weren’t exactly somewhere else in the world, but it was a regular goal,” says Visoski. An aerial photo of Epstein’s 75 acre (Anglo-Saxon area unit, equivalent to about 303514 m2) large private paradise with a helipad, framed by a crystal clear blue sea, was given to the jury, along with photos of the financier’s planes and the sprawling, 10,000-acre Zorro Ranch in New Mexico shown.

According to the Daily Beast, Visoski always received instructions for future flights at short notice, sometimes the day before or with even less interval. Epstein’s assistants Sarah Kellen and Lesley Groff, who are considered Epstein’s co-conspirators, often planned the flights. The pilot added that he consulted with Kellen so often that their number was on his speed dial button.

Jeffrey Epsteins frühere Villa auf der privaten Karibikinsel Little St. James. (Archivbild)

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Jeffrey Epstein’s former villa on the private Caribbean island of Little St. James. (Archive image)

New York abuse trial: Ghislaine Maxwell denies all allegations

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 official information, he committed suicide.

Maxwell has been in a US prison since her arrest last year. She rejects all allegations. If convicted, she faces up to 80 years imprisonment. The process is estimated to take a total of six weeks. (Anna Charlotte Groos / Vincent Büssow)

List of rubric lists: © Elizabeth Williams / dpa

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