‘Missing’ Maxwell to get email summons

A JUDGE has agreed that Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged madam, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, can be served with court papers via email as she has ‘disappeared off the face of the earth’.

Maxwell, 58, has not been seen in public since an apparently staged photograph of her at a Los Angeles fast-food restaurant was shared by her lawyer last August.

Last week, Manhattan judge Debra Freeman took the extraordinary step of allowing lawyers for alleged Epstein victim Annie Farmer to serve the papers on Maxwell via email because she has proved so elusive to find.

Under US law, a person must be served with court documents in person unless a judge rules there are ‘exceptional circumstances’.

Ms Farmer claims she was just 16 when Epstein sexually assaulted her at his New Mexico ranch. In court documents, she says Maxwell pressured her to get naked and then ‘touched intimate parts’ of Ms Farmer’s body and ‘groped her’.

She is suing Epstein’s estate for damages. Her lawyers want to question Maxwell about the alleged assault. Dozens of other victims have claimed Maxwell ‘procured’ women for Epstein – charges that she vehemently denies.

Ms Farmer’s lawyers told of their frustration, saying: ‘The plaintiff has attempted to locate and personally serve Maxwell to no avail.’ They claimed Maxwell had been ‘actively participating’ in other lawsuits against her despite disappearing from view, including ‘vigorously fighting’ the release of thousands of documents from a defamation case between Maxwell and Prince Andrew’s accuser Virginia Roberts.

A legal source close to the case said: ‘Maxwell appears to have disappeared off the face of the earth. She has proven impossible to find, which is extraordinary in this day and age when everyone has a cellphone. Justice will prevail and we will have our day in court.’