The case against Ghislaine Maxwell, former partner and partner of Epstein, in the hands of the jury

Son six men and six women from New York, from between 20 and 70 years and varied races and professional and life circumstances. From this Monday, the future of Ghislaine Maxwell, the 59-year-old woman who was a partner and later associate of Jeffrey Epstein and who faces six counts for participate and conspire in the plot of sexual abuse of underage girls for which the financier, who officially took his life in 2019 while awaiting trial, never got to sit on the bench.

Maxwell, arrested in 2020, has reached that bench. His trial kicked off in Manhattan federal court on November 29 and has gone faster than expected. Over the course of two weeks the prosecutor’s office presented his case and called 23 witnessesincluding four alleged victims of Maxwell and Epstein, and in recent two days last week the defending raised his, with nine witnesses. This Monday the two visions have faced each other again in the more than four hours of presentation of the final arguments, the last messages with which the jury launches into deliberations that, in case to end in conviction, they could take Maxwell to a maximum penalty of 70 years in prison.

“Sophisticated predator”

Alison Moe has been in charge of summarizing the prosecution’s case and has done so by defining Maxwell as a “sophisticated predator who knew exactly what he was doing, manipulated victims and prepared them for abuse sexual. Caused a deep and lasting damage young girls & rdquor ;, he said. “It’s time for me to be held accountable.”

Moe has assured that Maxwell was “crucial to the whole plot& rdquor ;, “ally and partner in crime” de Epstein, su “right hand& rdquor ;. “Epstein couldn’t have done all this alone,” Moe has said. “When you are with someone 11 years you know what they like and Epstein liked to play minors and Maxwell knew it & rdquor ;.

According to that prosecutor’s account, it was also Maxwell who was targeting the minors, especially some in vulnerable situations such as the recent loss of a father or life with an alcoholic mother, and brought them closer to the world of Epstein massages that ended in touching and “I was trying to normalize the abuse sexual & rdquor ;. “It lures them into a trap & rdquor ;, has said the state attorney, who has denounced that Maxwell” managed all the details, even the oils and lotions for the massages & rdquor ;, and has represented her as particularly “dangerous & rdquor; for looking for especially vulnerable victims because of your family circumstances.

Possible financial interests of Maxwell, specifically more than $ 30 million transferred to him by Epstein over the years. “Common sense tells you that you don’t give someone $ 30 million unless they are giving you exactly what you want. And what Epstein wanted was to touch younger girls & rdquor ;, the prosecutor has said.

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The line of defense

Laura Menninger, Maxwell’s lawyer, has assured for her part that her client is “an innocent woman wrongly accused for crimes he did not commit & rdquor ;, delving into the line that the defense has maintained since the case began that Maxwell is on trial for Epstein’s crimes. The defense has also tried again to undermine the credibility of the four alleged victims, denouncing that they have misrepresented his memories of what happened implicating his client, at the behest of the government, after initially pointing out only Epstein and hinting that they might have financial reasons to testify, although they have already collected money from Epstein’s victims compensation fund.