Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial to begin in New York

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The sex trafficking trial of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell is set to begin in New York

The British socialite denies recruiting teenagers who were not yet adults for Epstein to sexually abuse from 1994 to 2004.

Maxwell, the daughter of late media mogul Robert Maxwell has been in a US jail since her arrest in July last year.

Her brother Ian Maxwell previously said his sister is in “effective isolation” at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, where she is being held in a 6ft by 9ft cell that has no natural light and is equipped with a toilet and a concrete bed.

Epstein died in a Brooklyn jail in 2019 as he was held on charges of the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York.

Court documents suggest Maxwell will challenge the accusations against her by claiming the alleged victims may have “false or distorted memories”.

The full indictment against her lists six charges, including conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts and conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

Maxwell is also accused of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, sex trafficking conspiracy, and sex trafficking of a minor.

The defendant is further alleged to have lied under oath by hiding her participation in Epstein’s offences during a separate civil case.

She denies all charges.

Opening statements in the trial are due to begin on Monday and the trial is expected to last for six weeks.