Jurors in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking trial finished an abbreviated first week of deliberations Tuesday, December 21, without reaching a verdict. Deliberations are set to resume on Monday, December 27, after the Christmas holiday break.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged Maxell with six crimes, according to court records from their website.
She is on trial for alleged conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in unlawful sex acts, conspiracy to transport children with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and two counts of perjury.
Using two dozen material witnesses, prosecutors spent two weeks attempting to prove that Maxwell was Jeffery Epstein’s primary “facilitator” in his alleged child sex-trafficking activities.
In 2008, The Guardian reported that Epstein pled guilty to state charges in Palm Beach County. He admitted to hiring teenage girls from the neighborhood to perform sexual acts and exotic massages at his home.
Prosecutors claimed Maxwell took part in the abuse on occasion, soliciting the cooperation of females who were assured Epstein’s wealth and connections would help them achieve their ambitions. Epstein appears to have amassed a fortune by managing other people’s funds.
According to court records, the girls came from financially troubled households and were desperate or under financial pressure.
According to the New York Post, the prosecution began laying out their case against the 59-year-old British socialite, alleging that she coaxed and misled children to satisfy Epstein’s perverted sexual urges and maintain her wealth and power.
On Monday, December 21, the jury began deliberations and ended Tuesday without reaching a verdict. The jury asked to review the testimony of three of four women who said they were teens when Maxwell and Epstein allegedly sexually abused them. Deliberations will resume on Monday after the holiday break.
According to Yahoo News, Prince Andrew, former Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, and other high-profile individuals flew on Epstein’s private flights.
Trump and Clinton have not been accused of trafficking, according to NBC News, but Virginia Roberts Giuffre claimed, in a civil lawsuit that when she was 17, Ghislaine Maxwell prostituted her to Prince Andrew, Duke of York, a son of Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Andrew has denied the allegations.
As the prosecution wrapped up its case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the government came under criticism by some prominent journalists and others for decisions about how it presented its case, MSN reported.
Gabriel Sherman, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair who also served as national-affairs editor at New York magazine, was among the journalists making those critiques.
“Before the trial opened, I counted myself among the pessimists who expected the case wouldn’t provide a full accounting of Epstein’s alleged crimes or expose the powerful men that allegedly participated in his depraved lifestyle,” Sherman wrote in Vanity Fair. “My view has held throughout the trial.”
Moira Penza, a Wilkinson Stekloff law firm partner, disagreed. As a trial lawyer, she told PBS, it is critical to streamline your case. And that necessitates a great deal of self-control.
“It is imperative to make sure, as the prosecutor, that you are sticking to the actual charges against Maxwell and where she was most directly involved,” Penza said. “And so, I think that was a conscious decision on behalf of the prosecution to highlight those areas where Maxwell had the most involvement with these victims.”