Shackled Ghislaine Maxwell blows kiss to family in court as insists she is innocent: ‘I have not committed any crimes’
District judge says former socialite has not requested a plea deal before trial starts
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Ghislaine Maxwell reportedly blew a kiss to her family as she appeared at a court hearing weeks before her trial on charges of aiding sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
Ms Maxwell told a hearing in court on Monday that she had “not committed any crimes.” Her lawyer, Bobbi Sternheim, also maintained her innocence.
She then blew a kiss to her family who were at the hearing in Manhattan, New York City, and presided over by US district judge Alison Nathan, according to CNN. Her sister was in the court room, it was reported.
Mr Sternheim told the judge that Ms Maxwell was awoken at 3.45am and was forced to crawl “on her hands and knees” to enter a van because of her leg shackles, before arriving at the hearing.
He added that she arrived at the court at 5.38am to find that she could not see her legal filings ahead of the pre-trial hearing, which begun at 11am, as Sky News reported.
Nor was she given utensils with which to eat the “very little food” she was given, Mr Sternheim said, describing the cell that his client was kept in for “hours” as being “cold”.
Ms Maxwell has frequently complained about her treatment at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre, following her arrest in July 2020.
The ex-associate of Epstein, a jailed paedophile and sexaul abuser who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, is accused of aiding the ex-financier.
It includes one count of sex trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to transport women for criminal sexual activity, as well as recruiting young women for Epstein.
Judge Nathan told the court that Ms Maxwell had not asked for a plea deal, and that prosecutors had not offered one before her trial is expected to begin on 29 November.