(Bloomberg) — Jurors in the sex-trafficking trial of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell sent a note to the judge asking for the testimony transcripts of five witnesses in the case.
U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan read the note on Wednesday morning. Four of the five witnesses whose testimony the jurors sought appeared for the defense, including a “false memory” expert who cast doubt on the accounts offered by four women who said they were abused by Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein as teenagers.
The jury also asked for clarification on the judge’s instruction yesterday that, due to the risk of a mistrial posed by the omicron variant, the panel should expect to work until 6 p.m. every day this week until they reach a verdict.
“Are we required to continue our deliberations every day, including Dec. 31 and Jan. 1?” they asked, adding, “We need to plan our schedules accordingly.”
Holiday Deliberations
Nathan responded that, yes, they may have to work over the holiday weekend.
“Yes, you will continue to deliberate every day as needed until you reach a verdict,” she said, adding, “I don’t mean to pressure you in any way. You should take all the time you need.”
The jury, which began its fifth full day of deliberations on Wednesday, has requested several testimony transcripts, including of all four accusers who testified. Maxwell, 60, has pleaded not guilty to charges that she lured and groomed underage girls for sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and participated in some of the abuse herself. Her lawyers claim she is being scapegoated for the crimes of Epstein, who was found dead in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting his own sex-trafficking trial.
In its Wednesday note, the jury asked to review the testimony of Dr. Elizabeth Loftus, a psychologist who testified that accounts of sexual abuse can be tainted after questioning by law enforcement and media. Loftus previously testified for the defense at the sex-abuse trials of Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, among others.
They also asked for the transcripts of testimony of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents who the defense called to highlight inconsistencies between the accusers’ trial testimony and accounts they previously gave law enforcement.
Inconsistencies
Special Agent Amanda Young testified at trial that one of the accusers, “Jane,” was “not sure if Maxwell ever called her to make appointments” for massages with Epstein and did not “have a specific memory of the first time” she was assaulted by him. Jane gave a vivid account of that encounter on the stand.
Jason Richards, the other FBI agent, likewise testfied that another accuser, Carolyn, had described Epstein as calling her on one occasion. She attributed that call to Maxwell at the trial.
The jury also asked for the testimony of Cimberly Espinosa, a defense witness who was the Maxwell’s former assistant. Espinosa said that Epstein had a “loving relationship” with Jane, who said she was subject to abuse by the financier starting from the age of 14.
The one prosecution witness whose testimony the jurors requested on Wednesday was Shawn, Carolyn’s former boyfriend. He backed up her testimony that she began going regularly to Epstein’s house to give him sexualized massages when she was around 14, getting paid hundreds of dollars each time, often by Maxwell.
Maxwell’s alleged recruitment of and payments to an underage Carolyn for sex with Epstein are key to the most serious charge against her, sex-trafficking of a minor, which carries a sentence of up to 40 years in prison.
(Updates with descriptions of witnesses whose testimony was requested.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
