Maxwell’s brother says prosecutors seeking to ‘break’ her

The brother of a British socialite charged with helping Jeffrey Epstein exploit underage girls says her prosecution is “the most over-hyped trial of the century,” designed to break a woman targeted by authorities desperate to blame someone for the late financier’s crimes.

Ghislaine Maxwell continues to have the backing of her family, and a family member will be in court at all times to show support, Ian Maxwell said in an interview ahead of the trial, which is set to begin Monday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

This is “the most over-hyped trial of the century without a doubt,” Ian Maxwell told the Associated Press. “This is designed to break her; I can’t see any other way to read it. … And she will not be broken because she believes completely in her innocence and she is going to give the best account she can.”

Prosecutors allege Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, groomed girls as young as 14 to have sex with Epstein and lied about her knowledge of his crimes when she testified in an earlier case. She has been in custody for almost 17 months, after Judge Alison J. Nathan repeatedly denied requests for bail.

Prosecutors held a press conference when they announced the charges against Maxwell, saying she lured young girls into a trap that she and Epstein had set for them.

“Ms. Maxwell chose to blatantly disregard the law and her responsibility as an adult, using whatever means she had at her disposal to lure vulnerable youth into behavior they should never have been exposed to, creating the potential for lasting harm,” FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney said at the time.

But Ian Maxwell says his sister is being blamed by U.S. authorities who are intent on holding someone responsible for Epstein’s crimes.

Epstein killed himself in jail in 2019 before he could face trial.

“This is not quite a put-up job, but nonetheless has been cobbled together so that Ghislaine is made to face the charges that Epstein never faced,” Ian Maxwell said.

The family continues to demand that Maxwell be released on bail, arguing that the conditions of her detention are tantamount to torture and prevent her from assisting her defense attorneys.