(Photo : Mark Mainz/Getty Images)
Asprey Flagship Store Opening on 5th Avenue
NEW YORK - DECEMBER 8: Socialite Ghislane Maxwell with an unidentified male companion attends the Opening of the Asprey Flagship Store on 5th Avenue December 8, 2003 in New York City.
Ghislaine Maxwell, a personal friend of Jeffrey Epstein's, is pleading with the government to release the alleged victims' names in her criminal indictment. Maxwell's lawyers recently met with prosecutors to sort out details in preparation for the pending trial.
According to Epstein's former pal, the identities of some victims listed in the superseding criminal indictment have not been released. Maxwell was convicted in July 2020 on suspicion of sexual abuse of young women by Epstein. According to prosecutors, Maxwell assisted in the recruitment of young women for Epstein to sexually abuse.
Prosecutors charged Maxwell with two additional counts of suspected sex trafficking earlier this year. After an alleged victim came forward, they added the charge. When Maxwell took the unnamed victim into Epstein's world in 2001, she said she was 14 years old. Between 2001 and 2004, the girl said Ghislaine Maxwell paid her to offer Epstein sexual massages.
The alleged victim allegedly paid "hundreds of dollars in cash for each encounter" at Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach mansion, said the prosecutors. "Recruit other girls to participate in paid sex acts with Epstein," she was told, which she did, RadarOnline reported. According to court documents, the names of the alleged victims listed in the superseding indictment will be released by the government by September 13, 2021.
The government claims to recognize Maxwell's desire for the names to be released immediately, but this will not happen. "The parties previously decided, and the Court ordered, that the Government would provide the prosecution with the victims' identities eight weeks before trial, on May 17, 2021. Therefore, the trial would begin on July 12, 2021," they note, as per RadarOnline.
Maxwell is dissatisfied with the government's stance. They have no "justification" for withholding the identity of the alleged victims, she claims. This, according to Epstein's friend, is hindering her ability to create a defense.
The case has yet to be decided by a judge. Maxwell is now being kept in a Brooklyn jail, where she says the guards are mistreating her. She recently flaunted a huge black eye she acquired while incarcerated in solitary confinement.
The judge says Ghislaine Maxwell's 'flashlight surveillance' won't end
Ghislaine Maxwell's attempt to stop jail officials from directing flashlights into her cell at night was denied by a US judge on May 14. Te British socialite claimed it hampered her preparation for her November trial on sex crime charges. The government provided "neutral motives" for officials at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to perform "flashlight surveillance" of Maxwell every 15 minutes, said US District Judge Alison Nathan.
Prosecutors said the checkups were justified because Maxwell had been housed alone, was facing serious charges, and maybe stressed due to the high-profile case, as per US News. However, the judge encouraged jail authorities to decide whether to minimize sleep disturbance for pretrial inmates like Maxwell and only enforce procedures that were "appropriate for her protection and security" and fairly treat how other inmates were handled.
The lawyers appealed in connection with Maxwell reportedly receiving a "black eye," presumably due to shielding her eyes from the light with a sock or towel. Face masks are prohibited for inmates.
Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial set to start on November
The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, accused of recruiting teenage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to assault over ten years sexually, will begin in November. Jury selection will occur in mid-November, opening statements will start on November 29, noted Judge Alison J Nathan.
Daily Mail reported that the order came a day after prosecutors informed the judge that both sides would go to trial in November, while defense lawyers favored November 8 and prosecutors preferred November 29. Jury selection could take place as early as the week of November 15, said Judge Nathan.
After defense attorneys argued that sex trafficking charges added in March left them with insufficient time to investigate and prepare for trial, the judge recently canceled a July 12 trial date. Since last July, when Maxwell was arrested at a New Hampshire estate, she has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn.
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