Maxwell has been in a US jail since her arrest last year and faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted…reports Asian Lite News.
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell set young girls up to be abused by “predator” Jeffrey Epstein, prosecutors have alleged.
Maxwell appeared in court in New York on Monday for the first day of her trial on sex trafficking charges, the BBC reported.
She denies the charges and her defence claims she is being used as a scapegoat for Epstein’s crimes, following his death in prison in 2019, it was reported.
But prosecutors argue the pair were “partners in crime” in sex abuse.
Maxwell has been in a US jail since her arrest last year, and faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors say Maxwell, who also has American and French citizenship, recruited and groomed underage girls for her long-term companion Epstein to abuse.
“She preyed on vulnerable young girls, manipulated them, and served them up to be sexually abused,” the BBC quoted Assistant District Attorney Lara Pomerantz as saying in her opening statement.
Epstein died in a New York prison cell on 10 August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges in a federal case. His death was ruled to be a suicide.