Ghislaine Maxwell watched as victim 'Jane' was sexually abused by Epstein
As the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell began on November 29, 2021, some questions may finally be answered about the sex scandal involving late Jeffery Epstein. Maxwell was arrested on July 2, 2020, and is one of the few remaining links to Epstein after he suspiciously died in jail. The trial is likely to finally tell us how far and wide Epstein's sex trafficking ring goes. It will also hopefully bring justice to the victims.
Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite and Epstein’s former girlfriend, is accused of having been part of a sex trafficking racket run by convicted pedophile Jeffery Epstein. She was arrested in July 2020 while she was hiding in New Hampshire. Maxwell, who was in a relationship with Epstein during the '90s, is accused of helping the billionaire sexually exploit girls. US District Judge Alison J Nathan, after being sworn in, reminded the jury that they must rely solely on the evidence provided in the courtroom.
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Jane Doe's testimony
An accuser who testified on Tuesday, November 30, said that Jeffrey Epstein raped underage girls in ‘orgies'. 'Jane Doe' revealed that she was 14 when Epstein and Maxwell befriended her at the Interlochen arts camp in Michigan. When she met Epstein, her family was struggling and that they "essentially went bankrupt” after her father died of leukemia. After she met Epstein, the couple started inviting her to his compounds, which were decorated with “pictures of famous people, presidents.. [and art of] naked women, creepy animals.”
Epstein allegedly started to pay for her voice lessons, clothes, and school supplies. He even provided money for her struggling mother. Meanwhile, when she was there, the victim says she saw Maxwell lounging topless with naked girls at the pool.
As the days passed, Epstein began to abuse the victim, with Maxwell's help. Jane accused deceased Epstein of masturbating on her, fondling Maxwell in front of her, groping her, raping her with sex toys, and forcing her to give him “hard” massages. Maxwell, all the while, was “very casual, like this was entirely normal. I was confused. When you are 14, you have no idea what is going on,” she testified. “He would get on the massage table and it would sort of turn into this orgy.” Jane said that she felt embarrassed to tell anyone about what was being done with her.
The abuse kept taking place at Epstein’s homes in New Mexico and New York. Maxwell, meanwhile, handled Jane’s travel arrangements. Epstein continued to abuse her, bringing her to a massage room and touching her with his fingers or a vibrator while masturbating. Jane claimed that Epstein’s Manhattan mansion “wasn’t a very warm place.” “It felt uncomfortable,” Jane said. “You didn’t feel safe. It always felt like someone was watching you.”
Jane's mother knew she had been spending a lot of time with Epstein and Maxwell. “My mom was so enamored with the idea that these wealthy people took an interest in me,” Jane testified. She further said that her mother asked her to “be grateful for the attention I received.” Jane, however, never told her mother that she was being abused.
In the court, US prosecutor Alison Moe asked why Jane could not remember exactly how many times Epstein abused her. "I was abused every time I would go over to his house. It started to seem the same after a while… you become numb to it," Jane answered. The exploitation continued even after Jane moved to New York when she was 17, to attend the Professional Children's School on Epstein's dime.
Jane lost touch with Epstein years later, after she turned 18 and moved to Los Angeles and got a job as an actress. She spoke to police about the incidents for the first time in 2019 after Epstein died, and also submitted a claim to the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program and received a $5 million settlement. $2.9 million of the amount went to her after attorney’s fees and various other court costs. Jane will be cross examined by the defense on December 1.
In March 2021, two new US federal charges were filed against Maxwell -- of being part of a sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor. Before these two charges were added to the indictment, Maxwell was already facing six more -- conspiracy to entice minors, and enticement of a minor, to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; conspiracy to transport minors, and transportation of a minor, with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and two of perjury. So far, she has denied all of these charges.