A jury will be chosen this morning in New York City to decide on a major point in the long-running sex trafficking case, two years after Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide while incarcerated. Was Ghislaine Maxwell, his lifelong companion, a pawn or an accomplice of Epstein?
Maxwell is accused of serving as Epstein’s main enabler by selecting and grooming young women for him to abuse. The charges against her originate from four women alleging that she and Epstein sexually abused them when they were teenagers between 1994 and 2004.
According to AP News, prosecutors say there’s evidence Maxwell knew the victims were under the age of consent, and that she coordinated travel for the girls between Epstein’s many properties.
Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 after tracking her down to a $1 million New Hampshire mansion where she had been hiding out during the coronavirus pandemic.
The 59-year-old entered a not guilty plea and has stated that she is innocent. Since her arrest the British socialite has called the claims against her “absolute rubbish.”
According to her lawyers and family, Maxwell was Epstein’s pawn, and that she is now paying “a blood price” to appease public demand for someone to be held accountable for his crimes.
The selection of the 12 jurors and six alternates who will hear Maxwell’s case will be the first order of business on Monday. Jurors will be chosen from a pool of 40 to 60 potential jurors who passed the preliminary examination.
Judge Alison Nathan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered the prosecution and defense to submit lists of potential jurors who should be removed from the trial. The defense will have ten peremptory challenges, while the prosecution will have six, according to Nathan. Each side will be given three challenges for alternates.
Nathan was recently nominated for a seat on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals by President Joe Biden, but she has stated that she will continue to rule over Maxwell’s trial.
Maxwell is the daughter of British newspaper billionaire Robert Maxwell, who died in 1991 after falling off his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine.
Ghislaine Maxwell is a dual citizen of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, and she was repeatedly denied bail in the months leading up to her trial.
