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Ghislaine Maxwell trial date set in Epstein sex trafficking case | |
(about 8 hours later) | |
The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and ex-girlfriend of the late convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, will begin in almost exactly a year's time, on 12 July 2021. | |
Ms Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to charges of trafficking minors for him. | |
She filed the plea at a hearing via video link in New York, where she remains in prison while awaiting trial. | |
Her lawyers have asked for her release on bail of $5m (£4m) because of the risk of getting coronavirus in prison. | |
Ms Maxwell was arrested on 2 July. If convicted, she faces up to 35 years if convicted. | |
US federal prosecutors say she is an "extreme" flight risk and should remain in custody. | |
Prosecutors allege that between 1994 and 1997, Ms Maxwell helped Epstein groom girls as young as 14. They have said that they expect "one or more victims" to testify. | |
Epstein died in prison on 10 August 2019 as he awaited his trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was determined to be suicide. | |
Last week, Ms Maxwell's lawyers said her detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, put her at "serious risk" of contracting coronavirus. | |
They said she was not a flight risk and asked the judge to release her from custody on bail signed by six of her associates and secured by a $3.75m property in the UK. | They said she was not a flight risk and asked the judge to release her from custody on bail signed by six of her associates and secured by a $3.75m property in the UK. |
Under the proposed bail conditions, Ms Maxwell, 58, would surrender her passports from the US, UK and France and confine herself to a property in New York with electronic GPS monitoring. | |
But prosecutors say her wealth, multiple passports and and the length of her potential sentence means there is a risk she could abscond. | |
Four of the charges Ms Maxwell faces relate to the years 1994-97 when she was, according to the indictment, among Epstein's closest associates and also in an "intimate relationship" with him. The other two charges are allegations of perjury in 2016. | Four of the charges Ms Maxwell faces relate to the years 1994-97 when she was, according to the indictment, among Epstein's closest associates and also in an "intimate relationship" with him. The other two charges are allegations of perjury in 2016. |
The indictment says Ms Maxwell "assisted, facilitated, and contributed to Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom and ultimately abuse victims known to Maxwell and Epstein to be under the age of 18". | The indictment says Ms Maxwell "assisted, facilitated, and contributed to Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom and ultimately abuse victims known to Maxwell and Epstein to be under the age of 18". |
Who is Ghislaine Maxwell? | Who is Ghislaine Maxwell? |
Ms Maxwell is the daughter of late British media mogul Robert Maxwell. | Ms Maxwell is the daughter of late British media mogul Robert Maxwell. |
A well-connected socialite, she is said to have introduced Epstein to many of her wealthy and powerful friends, including Bill Clinton and the Duke of York (who was accused in the 2015 court papers of touching a woman at Jeffrey Epstein's US home, although the court subsequently struck out allegations against the duke). | A well-connected socialite, she is said to have introduced Epstein to many of her wealthy and powerful friends, including Bill Clinton and the Duke of York (who was accused in the 2015 court papers of touching a woman at Jeffrey Epstein's US home, although the court subsequently struck out allegations against the duke). |
Buckingham Palace has said that "any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors" by the duke was "categorically untrue". | Buckingham Palace has said that "any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors" by the duke was "categorically untrue". |
Ms Maxwell, who has mostly been out of public view since 2016, was arrested at her remote estate in Bradford, New Hampshire, on 2 July. |