Prosecutors in Ghislaine Maxwell case ask for halt to civil proceedings against British heiress

Federal prosecutors pursuing child sex trafficking charges against Ghislaine Maxwell say their case would be jeopardised if a separate civil lawsuit against the heiress was allowed to continue, in an extraordinary appeal to the judge.

Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York (SDNY) have argued that there is a "factual overlap between the civil and criminal cases" and there was "significant risk" that proceeding with the civil suit jeopardises the criminal prosecution against Ms Maxwell.

The civil suit, filed earlier this year under the pseudonym Jane Doe, contains allegations that are substantially similar to those in the criminal indictment against Ms Maxwell, who allegedly groomed three minor girls to be abused by Epstein in the mid-1990s.

Ms Maxwell, 58, who is being detained in a federal prison in Brooklyn until her trial next year, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has denied the allegations in the civil suit.

The woman, now 40, alleges that she was first approached at age 13 by Epstein and Ms Maxwell in 1994 at a summer camp in Michigan and that a months-long grooming process by the pair continued after she returned home to Florida.

She claims she was then subjected to years of sexual abuse.

"Witnesses may be forced to testify about any efforts to assist the criminal investigation and prosecution, and may thereby expose facts about the investigation ... and could potentially expose witnesses and/or their families to harassment," states the SDNY’s letter filed on Thursday.

"Moreover, permitting any discovery to proceed in this lawsuit would enable Maxwell to seek a preview of trial testimony in the criminal case, and would afford her with a broader array of discovery than she is entitled to in the criminal case."

By advocating for a stay in the civil case, the government finds itself, in this instance, aligned with Ms Maxwell and the co-executors of Epstein's estate, who have been arguing that the case should be placed on hold while criminal investigation remains open.

The disgraced late financier left behind an estate worth an estimated $577(£450m) million after he was found dead in his prison cell five weeks after his arrest on July 6, 2019 on multiple sex-trafficking charges.

A number of his victims are suing the estate, arguing they should be compensated for the abuse they suffered.

Robert Glassman, a lawyer representing Jane Doe, wrote in a letter to the court that his client “is best served by pressing forward with her claims — not waiting even longer for justice.

“A stay of the civil proceedings would provide what defendant Maxwell has sought for years - concealing her heinous acts from public view,” he said.

A court in Manhattan is also due to hear oral arguments on September 22 in the civil defamation case filed against Ms Maxwell by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a victim of Epstein’s, in the decision over whether to unseal “sensitive” evidence.