"Jane" was 14 when Ghislaine Maxwell first approached her: at the trial in New York of the former girlfriend of American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, accused of sex crimes but deceased, a key prosecution witness recounted Tuesday, November 30, how the couple had approached and coaxed her before abusing her.
Read also Epstein Affair: Ghislaine Maxwell, the perverse drift of a rich heiress
On the second day of this trial in Manhattan federal court, where the former British socialite born in France faces life imprisonment for sex trafficking, this victim, whose anonymity was protected, described the couple's hold on her teenage life 27 years ago. The first of four witnesses called by prosecutors, she also accused Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, of having been present and sometimes participating in the sexual assaults committed by Epstein.
“I was frozen with fear (...), I was terrified and I felt disgusting. I was ashamed, ”
she explained, crying several times during her testimony.
Ghislaine Maxwell had first approached her in 1994, near an artsy summer camp in Michigan, while eating ice cream with friends.
Soon, Epstein had joined them.
The couple, after being interested in the artistic activities of "Jane", had asked for her phone number because the teenager lived the rest of the year in Palm Beach, Florida, where the American billionaire had a residence.
At the time, the young girl had lost her father nine months earlier to leukemia and was living with her mother and brothers in a house loaned by friends.
Epstein "just took my hand and told me to follow him"
Back in Florida, Epstein had invited the mother of "Jane" for tea, multiplying the compliments on the artistic talents of her daughter and presenting himself as possible financial support, she told the court. Then she started going alone in the villa of Jeffrey Epstein, who gave her money for her mother, while at other times, Ghislaine Maxwell took her to the movies or to go shopping. One day, when she was still only 14, Jeffrey Epstein
"just took my hand and told me to follow him,"
she told the court, before describing sexual abuse.
The following times, when Ghislaine Maxwell was present, she acted
"as if it was normal"
, by showing him in particular
"how Jeffrey wanted to be massaged"
. "Jane" remembers traveling with the couple about ten times. Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of media mogul Robert Maxwell who died in 1991, is accused of recruiting underage girls from 1994 to 2004 and making them available to Epstein, for sexual purposes.
She who gravitated in the jet-set and the social circles, frequenting the celebrities and the rich fortunes, claims to be innocent and pleads not guilty to the six counts.
The financier, with whom she had had a relationship and of which she was one of the main collaborators, committed suicide in prison in the summer of 2019 before being able to be tried, a death which had caused a scandal because it deprived its victims of a trial.
Ghislaine Maxwell, who has since disappeared from circulation, was arrested about a year later.
To read also Trafficking in minors: Ghislaine Maxwell, the intriguing "Madame" of the Epstein system in court
Prior to the testimony of "Jane," whose cross-examination by defense attorneys began on Tuesday, the court heard from an airplane pilot who had worked for 30 years for the deceased financier, owner of residences in New York, in Florida, New Mexico or the Virgin Islands. Asked by one of the accused's lawyers, Lawrence Visoski replied in the affirmative when asked if he remembered having ever transported celebrities like Prince Andrew, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton on a billionaire's plane. , names already mentioned among the personalities who attended Jeffrey Epstein. He also remembered actor Kevin Spacey. He also explained that he had never witnessed any inappropriate behavior inside the plane.Then he called Ghislaine Maxwell
"Number two"
of Jeffrey Epstein, ensuring that she often took care of planning flights.
Prince Andrew, second son of the Queen of England Elizabeth II, is being sued in New York for sexual abuse by a victim of the American billionaire, facts he has always disputed.