Ghislaine Maxwell relationship with Jeffrey Epstein: How did they meet?

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been pleaded guilty in sex trafficking charges, and likely to face decades behind bars. The trial began on Monday, 29 November.

Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of the late media mogul Robert Maxwell, told a 2016 deposition that she met Jeffrey Epstein, then a wealthy financier, in 1991 through a mutual friend.

Also read: Ghislaine Maxwell’s age, husband, children and net worth

In the 1990s, the couple socialised with Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as Prince Andrew, with Ms Maxwell flying on Epstein’s private jets and staying at his homes, before settling in a $5m New York townhouse.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Maxwell first helped Epstein in his sexual exploitation of underage girls in 1994, with Annie Farmer, then 16, alleging she was lured to Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico.

She stated in court papers that Ms Maxwell insisted on giving her a massage before Epstein tried to physically restrain and sexually assault her in a bedroom at the property.

Also read: British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell convicted in Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse case

Ms Farmer sued Epstein’s estate and Ms Maxwell, in which she eventually accepted a compensation offer from the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Fund, and dropped her allegations as part of that settlement.

The allegations against Epstein continued to mount and in 2005, a 14-year-old girl contacted police saying that she had been sexually assaulted at his home in Palm Beach, Florida.

In 2006, Epstein was arrested and charged by a grand jury with one count of solicitation of a prostitute and he eventually took a controversial plea deal in state court to prevent federal charges.

Also read: Jury to resume deliberations in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial

After pleading guilty to one count of solicitation of prostitution and one charge of solicitation of a minor, Epstein served 13 months in Palm Beach County Jail.

Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers.

Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: “The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify.”

“The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did,” one of Maxwell’s lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasized to the jury. “But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein.”

Also read: Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Closing arguments begin as jury weighs verdict

Maxwell’s legal team questioned whether the accusers’ memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epstein’s estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Maxwell’s family complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where she’s been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense.

Also read: Accuser says Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein violated her at age 16

Before Maxwell was taken from the courtroom, Sternheim asked that arrangements be made to give her a coronavirus booster shot, saying infection rates were rising dramatically at the lockup. The recent surge threatened to derail the trial itself as U.S. District Court Judge Alison J. Nathan prodded jurors to work quickly to avoid the potential of a mistrial caused by sickened jurors.

The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over.

Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury.

Also read: Meeting Ghislaine Maxwell led to years of sex with Epstein, says accuser

Lawsuits loom, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months.

Following the Maxwell verdict, Giuffre released a statement through her lawyers, saying, “I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served.”

(With inputs from agencies)