Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Who are the alleged victims and what are the charges?
The long-awaited trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is facing six sex-trafficking charges, is due to start in New York on Monday.
The charges involve four alleged underage victims and multiple locations over a 10-year period between 1994 and 2004. The youngest alleged victim was 14 years old at the time.
Maxwell also faces two counts of perjury which will be tried separately.
She denies all the charges and has pleaded not guilty.
Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, is at the heart of all the allegations. Prosecutors claim Maxwell “assisted, facilitated, and contributed” to Epstein’s abuse, which largely took the form of sexualised massages.
Prosecutors claim Ghislaine Maxwell ‘assisted, facilitated, and contributed’ to Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse Pic: Sky UK
They argue Maxwell encouraged alleged victims to travel to Epstein’s residences across the US knowing that it “would result in their grooming for and subjection to sexual abuse”.
The defendant is also accused of taking part in group sex with Epstein and one alleged victim.
Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 in an apparent suicide. He was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
The Epstein-Maxwell relationship
In the 24-page indictment, the government claims that Maxwell was in an “intimate relationship” with Epstein between 1994 and 1997, and that for a longer period (1994-2004) he paid her to manage his properties.
The alleged victims
In the US, alleged victims of sexual abuse are not automatically entitled to lifelong anonymity as in the UK. However the judge in the Maxwell trial has decided that all four alleged victims will be able to use a pseudonym or just their first name. Judge Alison Nathan said this would avoid press intrusion and personal embarrassment.
- Alleged Victim 1 – (1994-1997) – New York and Palm Beach, Florida
The first alleged victim was about 14 years old when, according to prosecutors, she first met Maxwell.
Maxwell is accused of grooming the young woman by taking her shopping and to the cinema, normalising abuse by undressing in front of her, and being present and involved in some of Epstein’s abuse.
Defence lawyer Bobbi Sternheim points toward Ghislaine Maxwell standing beside Jeffrey Pagliuca during a pre-trial hearing on charges of sex trafficking, in a courtroom sketch in New York City
The government claims this took place in Epstein’s New York townhouse and at his mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, and that the alleged victim was encouraged to travel between Mr Epstein’s residences.
- Alleged Victim 2 – (1996) – New Mexico
The second alleged victim was under 18 when she was flown to Epstein’s New Mexico ranch at his invitation, prosecutors claim. They argue Maxwell knew the woman was under 18 and groomed her with shopping and cinema trips, and by discussing her school classes.
Maxwell is accused of giving the woman an unsolicited massage while the alleged victim was topless, and encouraging her to massage Epstein.
- Alleged Victim 3 – (1994-1995) – London
Maxwell is accused of befriending the third alleged underage victim in London, and grooming her by asking about her life and family. Prosecutors claim Ms Maxwell introduced the woman to Epstein and encouraged her to give him massages, knowing that this would result in sexual abuse.
The location of the alleged abuse is not in the United States, but under US law crimes committed outside the country can be charged within it if the victim or victims are American citizens. The bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998, for example, were prosecuted and tried in a Manhattan federal court.
We therefore presume Alleged Victim 3 is an American citizen.
- Alleged Victim 4 – (2001-2004) – Palm Beach, Florida
The fourth alleged victim lived in Florida and prosecutors claim she was about 14 years old when she was recruited to give Epstein sexualised massages for money at his Palm Beach mansion.
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Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother talks to Sky News about his sister, who is awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges
Maxwell is accused of grooming her by asking about her family, and normalising the abuse by discussing sexual topics and being present when the alleged victim was nude in Epstein’s massage room.
The government says Maxwell was among a number of Epstein employees who phoned the woman to schedule sexualised massages, paid her hundreds of dollars in cash and encouraged her to recruit other young females.
Prosecutors argue Maxwell and others on Epstein’s payroll sent the woman gifts, including lingerie. They also allege Ms Maxwell invited her to travel with Mr Epstein and help her apply for a passport – both offers were declined.
The charges
The six sex-trafficking charges relate to allegations across 10 years as detailed above, but in some cases they are linked to particular alleged victims:
A court sketch of Maxwell
1) Conspiracy to Entice Minors to Travel to Engage in Illegal Sex Acts – The first of the three conspiracy charges concerns all four alleged victims and focuses on the defendant allegedly encouraging them to travel so they could be abused. To prove ‘conspiracy’, prosecutors need to convince the jury that Maxwell and Epstein had an agreement to commit the crimes.
The government says Maxwell took part in group sex with Alleged Victim 1 and Epstein in New York and Florida, and encouraged her to travel between the two so she could be abused by Epstein.
They argue Maxwell gave Alleged Victim 2 an unsolicited massage, and encouraged Alleged Victim 3 to massage Epstein knowing she would be sexually abused.
Prosecutors argue Maxwell encouraged Alleged Victim 4 to travel outside of Florida with Epstein.
2) Enticement of a Minor to Travel to Engage in Illegal Sex Acts – Travel is again important here. The government says that Maxwell did “persuade, induce, entice, and coerce” Alleged Victim 1 to travel from Florida to New York so that the young woman could have sex with Epstein.
3) Conspiracy to Transport Minors with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity – The second conspiracy charge also involves all four alleged victims, and touches on similar allegations to the first conspiracy charge.
Prosecutors claim Maxwell took part in group sex with Alleged Victim 1 and Epstein in New York and Florida on multiple occasions. They say that Maxwell “enticed” her to travel from Florida to New York so this abuse could take place.
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Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother talks to Sky News about his sister, who is awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges
Maxwell is also accused of giving Alleged Victim 2 an unsolicited massage in New Mexico when the young woman was topless.
Prosecutors say Maxwell encouraged Alleged Victim 3 to give Epstein massages knowing she would be abused.
A court sketch of Maxwell
They also claim the defendant encouraged Alleged Victim 4 to travel outside of Florida with Epstein.
4) Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity – This charge mainly focuses on Alleged Victim 1. Maxwell is accused of arranging for her to travel from Florida to New York multiple times so Epstein could sexually abuse her.
5) Sex Trafficking Conspiracy – This charge largely concerns Alleged Victim 4. Maxwell is accused of recruiting her, encouraging her to recruit others, enticing her to engage in sexual acts with Epstein, scheduling her massages, sending her gifts and paying her hundreds of dollars in cash.
6) Sex Trafficking of a Minor – Alleged Victim 4 is partly the focus here. Prosecutors say the defendant “recruited, enticed, harboured, transported, provided, and obtained individuals who were less than 18 years old” to have sex with Epstein.
Maxwell is also facing two charges of perjury (lying under oath) for which she will be tried separately. Both charges relate to a 2016 deposition, when Maxwell was questioned out of court but under oath about Epstein. Prosecutors allege she “repeatedly lied” in an effort to “conceal her crimes”.
7) Perjury – When asked if she was aware of a scheme to recruit underage women for sexual massages with Epstein, Maxwell replied: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She was asked to “list all the people under the age of 18 that you interacted with at any of Epstein’s properties”, and responded that apart from a 17-year-old linked to the deposition: “I’m not aware of anybody that I interacted with”.
8) Perjury – Maxwell said under oath she did not “recall” whether Epstein possessed sex toys. She also claimed she was unaware of Epstein having sex in the 1990s and 2000s with anyone apart from her, and two women with whom they had threesomes. Ms Maxwell also denied ever giving anyone a massage:
Q – Is it your testimony that you’ve never given anybody a massage?
A – I have not given anyone a massage.
Q – You never gave Epstein a massage, is that your testimony?
A – That is my testimony.
A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
A former FBI director has been interviewed by the US Secret Service over a social media post that Republicans say was a call for violence against President Donald Trump.
James Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 until he was fired in 2017 by Mr Trump during his first term in office, shared a photo of seashells appearing to form the numbers “86 47”.
James Comey later removed the Instagram post. File pic: AP
He captioned the Instagram post: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Some have interpreted the post as a threat, alleging that 86 47 means to violently remove Mr Trump from office, including by assassination.
Mr Comey later removed the post, saying he thought the numbers “were a political message” and that he was not aware that the numeric arrangement could be associated with violence.
“I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down,” Mr Comey said.
Mr Trump rejected the former FBI director’s explanation, telling Fox News: “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant… that meant assassination.”
Donald Trump Jr accused Mr Comey of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered”.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on X that Mr Comey had been interviewed as part of “an ongoing investigation” but gave no indication of whether he might face further action.
The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said Mr Comey had put out “what can clearly be interpreted as a hit on the sitting president of the United States”.
“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” Mr Budowich wrote on X.
Another White House official James Blair said the post was a “Clarion Call (…) to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East”.
Read more US news:
Smokey Robinson under criminal investigation
Cassie challenged over Diddy ‘freak off’ allegations
Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in May 2017 for botching an investigation into 2016 democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the White House said at the time.
While Mr Comey was the director of the FBI, the agency opened an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia to help get Mr Trump elected.
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