The indictment said Ms Maxwell would stay in the room as Epstein abused minors, which “helped put the victims at ease because an adult woman was present.”
“Without Ghislaine, Jeffrey could not have done what he did,” prosecutors have claimed.
In sworn testimony for an earlier civil case, Ms Maxwell acknowledged she dated Epstein but said she later became his employee, tasked with things like hiring staff for his six homes.
“A very small part of my job was to find adult professional massage therapists for Jeffrey,” she said during a deposition in 2016. “As far as I’m concerned, everyone who came to his house was an adult professional person.”
They plan to show jurors a picture of Ms Maxwell and Epstein swimming nude together to illustrate their close relationship.
The mention of Ms Maxwell’s address books have sparked speculation that the trial could explore Epstein’s connections to Prince Andrew, former President Bill Clinton and former OJ Simpson lawyer Alan Dershowitz. But the judge has tried to temper expectations, saying only certain pages of the so-called “black book” will come into evidence to avoid needless name-dropping.
Notably absent is Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of the most well-known accusers, who says she was 17 when Epstein and Maxwell forced her to have sex with their high-profile and powerful circle of friends, including the Duke and Mr Dershowitz, who both deny the allegations.
