The former British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, tried in New York for sex trafficking, spoke for the first time on Friday, December 17 at her trial, saying that the prosecution had not provided proof of her guilt.
Read also Epstein Affair: Ghislaine Maxwell, the perverse drift of a rich heiress
"
Your honor, the government has not provided evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, so I do not need to testify,
" said Ghislaine Maxwell, accused of having provided from 1994 to 2004 to her former companion. and collaborator Jeffrey Epstein - American financier who died in prison in 2019 - young underage girls so that they can be sexually exploited.
Accused of having been a "
reel
"
Manhattan federal court has been listening to witnesses called by the defense of Ghislaine Maxwell since Thursday and the proceedings should be concluded Friday evening, said prosecutor Maurene Comey. For two days, the accused's lawyers have dragged out the hearings to try to convince the jury of the innocence of their client, a very close friend of Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in his cell in New York at the summer 2019 even before being tried for sex crimes. The defense wanted to call 35 witnesses, but ultimately only called nine.
Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, - British, American and French and daughter of newspaper mogul Robert Maxwell - is accused of being a "
tout
" for Epstein and has been detained in New York since the summer of 2020. She pleads not guilty of all the charges for which she faces life imprisonment.