Ghislaine Maxwell ‘to take the stand’
‘No fear’ of giving court evidence in sex trafficking trial
GHISLAINE Maxwell is said to be considering giving evidence in her defence at the “trial of the decade” which is due to get under way today.
Sources close to the British socialite say she has “no fear” of taking the stand in the sex trafficking case in the US.
Maxwell, 59, allegedly recruited underage girls for her former boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein to abuse.
She could be jailed for up to 80 years if she is convicted of the sex trafficking and child sex offences.
A source close to her said: “Ghislaine is absolutely prepared to take the stand.
“She is prepared to do whatever it takes to save her own life.
“She has never shied away from the truth and she is looking forward to her day in court.
“Ghislaine is not over-confident by any means but she knows she is telling the truth.
“She has no fear about getting in the witness box.”
Convicted sex offender Epstein was found hanged in a jail cell in America in 2019 after being held on suspicion of sex trafficking of minors.
The US financier had a host of high profile friends and associates.
Maxwell is on remand in the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York.
She has spent the past 16 months in custody after being arrested in July last year. The trial in Manhattan is expected to last six weeks. Maxwell is facing six counts relating to four alleged victims. The charges include allegedly transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and one of conspiracy to commit the same offence. There is one count of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, and one of conspiracy to commit the same offence. There is one count of sex trafficking and one of sex trafficking conspiracy. Maxwell denies all of the offences, which relate to alleged incidents between 1994 and 2004. Prosecutors are set to use six pages of Epstein’s notorious black book of contacts.
More than 80 journalists are expected to arrive for the start of the trial today. Maxwell, pictured with a black eye in a jail photo released in court papers in April, is understood to have set aside at least £5million to cover legal bills for her defence team.
She also faces two counts of perjury which are set to be dealt with at a second trial. louie.smith@mirror.co.uk