The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite accused of helping hide Nazi gold in Switzerland during World War II, resumed on Wednesday morning with a third day of testimony. The defense called two witnesses who argued that she was unfairly targeted by Swiss authorities after the war and should be released immediately.
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On Monday morning, a second complainant testified against Ghislaine Maxwell at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York City. Credit… The New York Times’ Stephanie Keith contributed to this article.
Ghislaine Maxwell encountered her in London when she was 17 and recruited her to give Jeffrey Epstein massages, which led to years of sexual meetings with him, according to a woman who goes by the nickname “Kate.”
The lady is the second of four accusers who will testify in Ms. Maxwell’s trial, which is already in its second week.
Ms. Maxwell, Kate told jurors, helped her arrange her meetings with Mr. Epstein by guiding her into massage rooms, planning her overseas flights, and, in one occasion, providing her a “schoolgirl” dress to wear while serving Mr. Epstein tea.
Ms. Maxwell was “extremely smart and very lovely,” Kate said, when she met her in Paris in 1994. She offered Ms. Maxwell her phone number, and when they both returned to London, Ms. Maxwell phoned and asked her to tea at her house.
Kate stated, “She appeared to be everything I wanted to be.” Kate was caring for her sick mother at the time, and she was overjoyed to meet “a new friend” who, in turn, appeared overjoyed to see her.
Kate informed the jury that Ms. Maxwell claimed she planned to introduce Kate to her partner, a “philanthropist” who likes to assist young people.
Ms. Maxwell brought Kate to her house a few weeks later, where Mr. Epstein was lounging in sweatpants in the living room, Kate said the jury. She persuaded Kate to “give a little squeeze” to Mr. Epstein’s foot to demonstrate her strength, and Mr. Epstein answered, “Oh, you can go ahead and do my shoulders.”
Mr. Epstein was there, and his masseuse had canceled — would she be able to step in? Ms. Maxwell contacted Kate shortly after with an urgent request, Kate remembered.
Mr. Epstein was waiting for Kate in a poorly lit room in Ms. Maxwell’s house. Kate stated that he made sexual contact with her and that they performed a sex act during the massage.
Kate said that she continued to meet Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell on a regular basis. She claimed she kept in contact with Ms. Maxwell over the phone, and Ms. Maxwell often brought up sexual issues, such as how “demanding Jeffrey was.”
“Because that was a lot for her to do,” Kate said, Ms. Maxwell once inquired if she knew someone who could come over and perform a sex act on Mr. Epstein. Mr. Epstein loved “beautiful, youthful, gorgeous” ladies like Kate, Ghislaine said, and he “needs to have sex approximately three times a day.”
Kate testified before the jury that she performed Mr. Epstein sexualized massages in London, Palm Beach, and New York, as well as on his island in the US Virgin Islands, and that she went on commercial flights using tickets organized by Ms. Maxwell. She said that their communication terminated when she was in her early thirties.
While visiting at Mr. Epstein’s Palm Beach residence, Kate discovered what she described as a “schoolgirl dress” on her guest room bed. “I thought it would be amusing for you to carry Jeffrey his tea in this attire,” Ms. Maxwell remarked when she inquired what it was for.
Kate dressed up, Ms. Maxwell handed her a platter, and she went to find Mr. Epstein beside the pool. She informed the jurors that he started a sexual act with her.
Kate was questioned by prosecutor Lara Pomerantz about why she wore the dress.
Kate said, “I didn’t know how to say no.” “I’d never gone to Florida or Palm Beach before. I couldn’t find the home since I didn’t know where it was. And I wasn’t sure if I didn’t say yes, whether I’d have to go, or what the consequences would be if I didn’t.”
— Benjamin Weiser and Rebecca Davis O’Brien
