Enlarge image
Ghislaine Maxwell in court on Friday (drawing)
Photo: JANE ROSENBERG / REUTERS
The jailed ex-girlfriend of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, has also pleaded not guilty on two new sex trafficking charges.
The 59-year-old appeared in person on Friday for the first time since her arrest last summer in a court in New York.
The visibly aged Maxwell spoke only a few words in the brief hearing and had the allegations rejected by her lawyer.
The former Epstein confidante was arrested in July 2020 in the US east coast state of New Hampshire and charged on six counts.
The prosecutors accuse her of selecting underage girls for Epstein who were then sexually abused by the investment banker.
In part, Maxwell is said to have been involved in the abuse himself.
Abuse in front of an eight year old
The list of Maxwell's alleged crimes was only renewed a few weeks ago.
A Florida real estate agent accuses her of raping her with Epstein in 2008.
The woman claims to have been raped several times by Epstein and Maxwell when she was 26 years old in a hotel in the city of Naples.
The then eight-year-old son of the person concerned is said to have been present.
In addition, Epstein and Maxwell are said to have offered the woman to men for sex.
Epstein is also said to have urged the woman to undergo genital surgery, allegedly to increase the woman's value for other "clients", the "Miami Herald" quoted from the court documents.
The trial of Maxwell, who faces life imprisonment, was originally scheduled to begin on July 12th.
The date is likely to be postponed because of the new charges.
Maxwell has been on custody in New York since her arrest in early July 2020.
Her release on bail was repeatedly refused because of the risk of fleeing.
Her ex-partner Epstein is said to have sexually abused underage girls and young women for years and incited or forced them into prostitution.
The well-connected investment banker was arrested in July 2019 and found dead in his Manhattan prison cell in August.
Epstein was sentenced to 13 months in prison for the sexual abuse of minors in 2008 and has since been listed as a sex criminal.
mxw / AFP