Ghislaine Maxwell refuses to testify while the defense rests on a sex abuse case

Ghislaine Maxwell refuses to testify while the defense rests on a sex abuse case. 

NEW YORK – Ghislaine Maxwell’s defense team resigned its case during her sexual abuse trial on Friday. After the British socialite informed the judge that the prosecution had not proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

In two days of evidence provided by ex-workers at Jeffrey Epstein, a psychologist specializing in memory, and the ex-girlfriend who was now-former financier, Jeffrey Epstein’s partner defense lawyers sought to undermine witnesses from women. 

It claims Maxwell was the one who set them up for a sexual assault by Epstein when they were teens.

Maxwell, who is 59, has been found not guilty of eight charges of sex trafficking and other offenses. 

Her lawyers claimed she is being blamed for the actions of Epstein. Epstein took her own life in 2019 at age 65 in the Manhattan jail cell while waiting for an indictment for sexual crimes.

Maxwell stated to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan that she would not appear in her defense on Friday.

“Your Honour, The government hasn’t established the facts beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore there is no reason for me to be a witness,” said Maxwell, appearing before the judge.

Maxwell’s lawyer Bobbi Sternheim had her arms over her back while speaking. 

The defendants at U.S. criminal trials are not required to be witnesses, and they often don’t as they are not required to testify. The burden rests on the prosecutors.

Final arguments in the trial are expected to conclude on Monday in the Federal Court in Manhattan. The jury will then begin discussions.

Nathan told jurors to “be cautious” before returning to their homes for the rest of the week. COVID-19 cases are increasing throughout New York, and Nathan earlier this week said she was trying to avoid “unnecessary delays” in the trial.

“I would like to see everyone returning on the next day,” Nathan said.

Instead, the trial was a saga of deceit. The defense tried to paint the defendants she accused as untrustworthy and not credible, arguing that their memories were distorted since the incidents were believed to have occurred in 1994-2004. 

They had been motivated by the possibility of receiving a payment from the compensation fund of Epstein’s victims.

In the afternoon of Friday, Maxwell attorney Christian Everdell presented a stipulation agreed to by both parties stating that the lawyer for one woman identified as the pseudonym Jane had informed the woman that the prosecutors might “help her case” without providing any specifics.

Lawyer Robert Glassman also said that cooperating with her was the “morally best option,” the stipulation said.

During the trial’s initial week, Jane admitted that the trust fund had granted her $5 million. 

But she did not believe that participating in Maxwell’s criminal conviction trial could aid her claim.

The jury earlier on Friday was briefed by the FBI agent who had questioned Jane several times before Maxwell’s arrest in July 2020. 

The agent admitted that Jane was not the first to tell them that she was in a room by herself together with Epstein or Maxwell. 

In addition, Jane stated that Maxwell often took part in sex actions with her and Epstein.

Jane Jane claimed she was just 14 years old when Epstein began to abuse her around 1994. However, Jane admitted that “memory isn’t linear.” 

Jane also stated that she wasn’t confident enough to discuss everything with her in her initial few encounters with the FBI.