Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Alleged victim testifies Jeffrey Epstein

On Dec 2, 2021

The woman, identified in court under the pseudonym “Jane,” also testified that she flew on Epstein’s private plane several times along with Prince Andrew, celebrity chef Adam Perry Lang and Epstein’s mother and brother.

She did not accuse the former President or any of the other plane passengers of wrongdoing. She also testified Epstein never asked her to recruit other girls or asked her to be involved in sex acts with anyone else. CNN has reached out to Trump for comment.

Maxwell, Epstein and Trump were part of similar social orbits, with both men maintaining residences in Palm Beach, Florida, and New York. And they were photographed together, sometimes with Trump’s then-girlfriend, Melania Knauss, several times throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

In 2002, Trump told New York Magazine, “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” adding that Epstein had a reputation for young women.

Last year, Trump was asked about the charges against Maxwell and said he wishes her “well.” Trump has told reporters in recent years that he banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago estate, but has never explained why their friendship ended.

Epstein, who had pleaded guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges, was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019. He was found dead in his prison cell a month afterward from what the medical examiner ruled a suicide. Maxwell, the British socialite and Epstein’s close confidante, was arrested a year later and has pleaded not guilty.

In opening statements Monday, prosecutors said Maxwell and Epstein created a “pyramid scheme of abuse” to lure underage girls into sexual relationships with Epstein. Her defense, meanwhile, said she was a “scapegoat” for Epstein’s actions and attacked the memories and motivations of the women who say they were sexually abused.

Epstein’s private pilot was the prosecution’s first witness in the trial and testified that Maxwell was Epstein’s “go-to person” for non-business related issues. The pilot, Larry Visoski, name-dropped a series of powerful men who flew aboard the plane. Visoski also testified he never saw any sexual activity on board.

Defense challenges Jane on inconsistencies

Jane, the prosecution’s second witness, began her testimony Tuesday and said she first met Maxwell and Epstein in 1994 when she was 14. They spent time with her, asked about her family and interests and took her to do fun things, and for a time Maxwell felt like an older sister, she testified.

Woman testifies Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein started sexually abusing her when she was 14

Then the abuse began, she said. She described incidents of sexual abuse with Epstein that Maxwell would at times join in on, both in Palm Beach and Manhattan when she was 14, 15 and 16 years old. She testified that Epstein would masturbate on her and molest her, and Maxwell would sometimes be involved, touching her and Epstein. At least once, Maxwell “instructed” her how Epstein liked to be massaged while the three were in Epstein’s “massage room,” she testified.

In cross-examination on Wednesday, Jane named several women she…