Dietz will also discuss how positive traits such as wealth and charisma can create a "halo effect" to mask negative behavior - possibly bolstering the defense's claim that Maxwell was also under Epstein's influence.
In the Maxwell trial, he's expected to testify that the concept of "grooming" can be difficult to define and evaluate, often relying on hindsight after abuse has been reported. The defense's roster includes Park Dietz, a forensic psychiatrist who has testified in a number of high-profile cases. According to court filings, she will discuss topics such as how sexual predators groom their victims and the reasons why victims might not realize or report that they were abused. The prosecution's likely witnesses include Lisa Rocchio, a clinical instructor at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University who is an expert in treating people who suffered sexual abuse as minors. Who will testify in the case?Īlong with the alleged victims, the prosecution and defense will each call on experts to tell the jury how they evaluate the claims against Maxwell. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York allege that from around 1994 until at least 2004, Maxwell "assisted, facilitated, and contributed to Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse" their victims. The government has sought to portray Maxwell as the chief coordinator of a sadistic trafficking ring that victimized teenage girls for Epstein's benefit. The indictment also accuses her of conspiracy, including using one of Epstein's victims to "recruit other girls to engage in paid sex acts with Epstein, which she did." Maxwell, 59, is being tried on multiple trafficking-related counts, including enticing minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts and sex trafficking a minor. What are the criminal charges against Maxwell? And while a video feed from the courtroom is being shown in an adjacent overflow room, attendees are barred from photographing or broadcasting the proceedings.
The trial is not being televised or streamed online. He's the proverbial elephant in the room."ĭefense lawyers said they intend to show that the accusers' memories can be wrong and can be manipulated by press coverage. "Ever since Eve was accused of tempting Adam for the apple, women have been villainized," she said, adding that "Epstein is not on trial. (Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images)ĭefense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim, meanwhile, said Maxwell was being blamed for Epstein's actions.
Ghislaine Maxwell, shown here in 2013, is facing trial on accusations of sex trafficking. They said they intend to prove that Maxwell was "essential" to Epstein's abuse of girls and that she was a predator herself and did it to stay a part of Epstein's lavish lifestyle. Prosecutors repeatedly used the words "children" and "kids" to describe the alleged victims and painted a picture of Epstein and Maxwell targeting victims from poor and broken families. They had a playbook," Pomerantz said of Epstein and Maxwell. Pomerantz alleged that Epstein and Maxwell ran a "pyramid scheme of abuse" and that Doe, who would go on to be sexually abused and exploited for years, was "not the only one." Attorney Lara Pomerantz began by telling the story of a woman, identified with the pseudonym Jane Doe, who says she was 14 years old when Epstein and Maxwell approached her at a camp. Prosecution intends to show Maxwell was "essential" to Epstein's abuseĪssistant U.S. Opening statements started on Monday afternoon after the final members of a 12-person jury were selected and the jury was impaneled. In the aftermath of Epstein's apparent death by suicide in 2019, the highly anticipated trial is seen as the government's best, and perhaps last, opportunity to secure a conviction for his alleged crimes. Opening statements began Monday in the federal sex-trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the once prominent socialite who stands accused of helping disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein exploit and abuse multiple girls, including one as young as 14, over nearly a decade.
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