Maxwell: An Epstein enabler or his pawn?

Trial will examine confidant’s relationship to wealthy man accused of sexually abusing girls at New Mexico ranch

NEW YORK — Ghislaine Maxwell spent the first half of her life with her father, a rags-to-riches billionaire who looted his companies’ pension funds and died mysteriously. She spent the second with another tycoon, Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself while charged with sexually abusing teens.

After a life of scandal and luxury, Maxwell’s next act will be decided by a U.S. trial.

Starting Monday, prosecutors in New York will argue Maxwell, 59, abetted Epstein’s crimes with girls as young as 14. A key question for jurors: Was Maxwell an unwitting pawn of Epstein’s manipulations or a knowing opportunist?

Ian Maxwell told the Associated Press his sister is “paying a heavy price, a blood price” to a justice system intent on holding someone responsible for Epstein’s crimes.

Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, grew up in a 51-room English country mansion where high-society parties were punctuated by trumpeters and fireworks. Her father, born Jan Ludvik Hoch, was born to Yiddish-speaking parents in what is now southwestern Ukraine. Escaping the Holocaust, he ultimately joined the British Army and transformed himself into Robert Maxwell.

Maxwell built on his military connections to found a publishing empire that ultimately included the British tabloid the Daily Mirror, the New York Daily News and the book publisher Macmillan. He married, fathered nine children, was twice elected to Parliament — and earned a reputation for boorish and bullying behavior.

While at the University of Oxford, Ghislaine Maxwell began building high-profile contacts. After graduating, she worked for her father and, in 1991, became his U.S. emissary after he bought the Daily News amid efforts to compete with fellow media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Later that year, Robert Maxwell fell off his yacht — the Lady Ghislaine — and drowned in what some saw as an accident and others a suicide. Investors would discover his wealth was an illusion: He had diverted hundreds of millions of pounds from the pension funds to prop up his empire.

Soon after his death, Ghislaine Maxwell was photographed sitting next to Epstein during a memorial.

In sworn testimony for an earlier civil case, Ghislaine Maxwell acknowledged she dated Epstein but said she later became his employee, tasked with things like hiring staff for his six homes.

But in 2005, Epstein was arrested in Palm Beach, Fla., accused of hiring multiple underage girls to perform sex acts. He pleaded guilty to a charge of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and served 13 months in jail.

Prosecutors in New York charged Epstein with sex trafficking in 2019, but he killed himself in jail before trial.

The indictment against Maxwell is based on accusations from four women who say she recruited them to give Epstein massages that progressed into sexual abuse. Maxwell sometimes participated in the sexual encounters and was involved in paying at least one accuser, prosecutors allege.

Annie Farmer alleges she was 16 when she was tricked into visiting Epstein’s New Mexico ranch under the guise of attending a bogus event for college-bound students. She said Maxwell tried to groom her by taking her to the movies and shopping, and giving her an unsolicited massage while the teenager was topless.