Socialite, Ghislaine Maxwell was a sophisticated predator who played a crucial role in pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme, silencing “the alarm bells” in underage victims’ heads while he abused them, a prosecutor said in closing arguments on Monday, December 20 in New York .
Assistant U.S. Attorney, Alison Moe told jurors on Monday that the British socialite was Epstein’s “right hand” and “lady of the house.” alleging she was fully aware of what her lover and employer (Epstein) was doing to the vulnerable young girls she recruited for his “massages,”
Speaking in Manhattan Federal Court, the prosecutor emphasized that Epstein paid Maxwell millions of dollars as she allegedly plied him with underage victims.
“Maxwell was a sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing,” said Moe.
“She caused deep and lasting damage to young girls. It is time to hold her accountable.
“Epstein liked underage girls. He liked to touch underage girls. Maxwell knew it.”
The US federal government is alleging that Maxwell groomed underage Epstein victims for abuse between 1994 and 2004. If found guilty of all charges, the 59-year-old Maxwell faces the prospect of spending the rest of her life in prison.
“Ghislaine Maxwell was dangerous. She was a grown woman who preyed on vulnerable kids — young girls from struggling families,” Moe said.
“The evidence showed you Maxwell and Epstein were a wealthy couple who used their privilege to prey on kids from struggling families.”
Moe highlighted bank records jurors saw during the trial showing how Epstein wired Maxwell tens of millions of dollars in 1999, 2002, and 2007.
“Your common sense tells you, you don’t give someone $30 million unless they’re giving you exactly what you want, and what Epstein wanted was to touch underage girls,” Moe told the jury.
According to the NY Daily news, Maxwell closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the prosecutor spoke.
“It is crystal clear Ghislaine Maxwell knew about and was deeply (involved) with Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of children,” Moe said.
A defiant Maxwell told the court that day she would not take the stand to testify.
“Your honor, the government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and so there is no need for me to testify,” Maxwell told Judge Alison Nathan.
In a show of solidarity, four of her siblings arrived at court early on Monday linking arms, Kevin, Ian, Christine, and Isabel Maxwell. She reportedly chatted with them in French before the jury arrived.
During the trial, Prosecutors called 24 witnesses over ten days to lay out their case against Maxwell, including four women who said the British socialite groomed them for Epstein’s sexual abuse and sometimes participated in it.
The six felony sex trafficking charges Maxwell faces in the trial carry a possible 70-year prison term. She faces separate perjury charges for lying about the alleged conduct under oath, potentially adding ten more years behind bars if convicted.
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