Advertisement

Ghislaine Maxwell trial – live: Prosecution prepares to rest case as defence team try to ‘hustle’ witnesses

Ghislaine Maxwell trial – live: Prosecution prepares to rest case as defence team try to ‘hustle’ witnesses

Day eight of the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

More details of alleged sexual abuse of teenage girls by Jeffrey Epstein and Ms Maxwell, his former partner, emerged on Wednesday when the former boyfriend of the third witness-accuser, Carolyn, corroborated many of the details of her testimony against Ms Maxwell when he took the stand in the morning.

The British socialite, who has been accused of luring and grooming girls and sending them to the convicted sex offender from the 1990s onwards, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Ms Maxwell’s defence team said that she is being made the “scapegoat” for Epstein’s deeds.

Carolyn stated how she was greeted by Ms Maxwell when she visited Epstein’s Palm Beach house and was paid $300 for massaging Epstein. She said she had visited Epstein’s house more than 100 times and even up to three times a week when she was 14-18 years old and something sexual happened on each occasion.

The prosecution reiterated that they intend to rest their case this week, wrapping up arguments from their side in a trial that was expected to last five to six weeks. This has reportedly caught the defence team off guard as they try to ‘hustle’ witnesses to testify.

Read More

Ghislaine Maxwell trial: What we’ve learned so far from inside the courtroom

How Ghislaine Maxwell met Jeffrey Epstein

Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial brought back a phrase we should never use again

Foot rubs and passionate kisses on yachts and private jets: Ghislaine Maxwell trial shown intimate Epstein photo album

Girls abused by Epstein exchanged bill at Palm Beach gas station, says 'Shawn'

07:17 , Arpan Rai

The former boyfriend, identified with the pseudonym “Shawn”, of one of the three accusers testifying against Jeffrey Epstein said he received a call from a woman to bring girls to the convicted sex offender’s estate.

He said he received a call from three women to do this, out of which one had a “proper English” accent, indicating it could be Epstein’s former partner Ghislaine Maxwell who was raised in England.

Shawn said he drove the girls from less affluent areas of West Palm Beach to Epstein’s posh property in Florida.

Because the money these girls received would be in bills of $100, the teenagers would stop at a Palm Beach gas station to exchange their bills for smaller denominations, Shawn told the court on Wednesday.