Cross-examination of the accuser, known only as “Jane,” continues today in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell.
The accuser says that Maxwell participated in the abuse she suffered when she was 14 by convicted paedophile Jeffery Epstein. The defense has been trying to find inconsistencies in Jane’s story throughout the three-day cross examination.
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to eight charges of sex trafficking among other crimes related to events that took place between 1994 and 2004. Maxwell has been in a United States jail since her arrest last year. If found guilty, she could face up to 80 years in prison.
The defense claims Maxwell is being used as a “scapegoat” of Epstein’s crimes after his death, ruled a suicide, in prison in August of 2019. Epstein was awaiting trial for federal sex-trafficking crimes.
The prosecution called Maxwell and Epstein “partners in crime” in sex abuse and human trafficking across America and Europe. They say Maxwell, who has both American and French citizenship, found, recruited, and groomed underage girls for abuse by Epstein.
Maxwell and Epstein were romantically involved in the early 90s. They remained close until Epstein’s arrest in 2008 on charges of solicitation of a prostitute. She distanced herself from Epstein until a 2015 lawsuit against him drew attention to her from the media.
The lawsuit accused Maxwell of being complicit in his abuse. Maxwell moved from Manhattan to New Hampshire after Epstein’s 2019 arrest, where she maintained a low profile until her arrest in July 2020.
Defense lawyer Laura Menninger produced documents from late 2019 that suggest Jane was unclear about Maxwell’s participation in the abuse.
Jane denies changing her story. She questions the accuracy of the defense documents. She says the statements she made then were never recorded.
Earlier this week, Jane described the alleged abuse between 1994 and 1997 in detail. She testified that Maxwell was present and “very casual” for much of the abuse.
The defense also accuses Jane of using her experience as an actress on a number of soap operas to embellish her testimony.
Jane maintains that she has no reason to lie as she has no financial incentive to testify against Maxwell. She has received $5M USD from the victims’ compensation fund.
“I guess in this country compensation is the only thing you can get to try and move on with your life,” she says.
She adds that her only motivation for testifying is to “find some sort of closure.”
Jane is the first of four alleged victims who are set to testify in the trial.
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