“I was frozen in fear,” she told the jury, adding that assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. Two charges, including the lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted, applied only to Jane. Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at the Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her. Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time. They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal: After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if she’d had fun and told her: “You are such a good girl.”Ĭarolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epstein’s Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $100 bills, which prosecutors described as “a pyramid of abuse.” They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwell’s behavior: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams. The fourth, psychologist Annie Farmer, chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years. Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress Kate, a former model from Great Britain and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell, his longtime companion - onetime girlfriend, later employee.īut the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages.
Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a “black book” that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading “massages.” Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries - Britain’s Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump - who flew on Epstein’s private jets. The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019.ĭuring the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epstein’s homes - a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case.Ī housekeeper testified he was expected to be “blind, deaf and dumb” about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favorite child of a media mogul. She did not hug her lawyers on the way out, a marked change from previous days during which Maxwell and her team were often physically affectionate with one another. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings - faithfully in attendance each day of the trial - as she herself was led from the courtroom. Afterward, she could be seen pouring herself water as one of her attorneys patted her back. With the maximum prison terms for each charge ranging from five to 40 years in prison, Maxwell faces the likelihood of years behind bars - an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epstein’s teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse.Īs the verdict was read, Maxwell was largely stoic behind a black mask.
Maxwell trial black book full#
Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. READ MORE: Ex-Epstein worker says she ‘never’ saw misconduct by Maxwell
The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein’s palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico. NEW YORK (AP) - The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
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