One of Ghislaine Maxwell’s accusers will give testimony detailing a ‘repugnant’ sexual act by Jeffrey Epstein at her sex trafficking trial later this month, after a judged ruled that she will be allowed to testify.
The woman, identified as ‘Minor Victim 3’, is set to describe the ‘morally reprehensible’ encounter with the billionaire pedophile as evidence of his sexual preference for young women and underage girls.
However, Maxwell’s lawyers accused prosecutors of making ‘eleventh hour’ changes to the case against their client after it emerged that two out of the four ‘minor victims’ set to testify were over the age of consent under local laws at the time.
The defense claims there’s a danger that the jury may convict Maxwell based on a ‘moral judgement of sexual activity which was entirely legal.’
Maxwell, 59, watched on as her lawyers sparred with prosecutors over how the testimony of the four victims should be presented to the jury in a final preparatory hearing on Tuesday. Her sister Isabel was sat in the public gallery.
The exact nature of the sexual act was redacted in the letter – obtained by DailyMail.com – from attorneys for Maxwell, who is accused of recruiting and trafficking underage girls for Epstein.
The motion was filed ahead of a ruling by Judge Alison Nathan who, after considering submissions from the defense and prosecution, ruled that the woman can give evidence but in a limited capacity.
Minor Victim 3, who is understood to be British, met Epstein and Maxwell in 1994 when she was around 17 years old.
According to the indictment, Maxwell ‘groomed and befriended’ the girl in London in the 1990s and arranged for ‘multiple’ sexualized massages with Epstein.
In their letter to the court, prosecutors claimed that it is clear that the woman ‘can reasonably be characterized as a “victim of alleged sexual misconduct”‘ and that her testimony of supports charges of conspiracy.
But Maxwell’s lawyers argued that the woman’s evidence should be excluded because it could unfairly sway the jury given she was over the age of consent in the UK, which is 16.
They wrote that prosecutors have been ‘candid’ that the woman’s evidence was to show Epstein’s ‘alleged ‘sexual preference’ for young girls and Maxwell’s purported knowledge of his sexual preference.’
The letter said that prosecutors have ‘frequently pointed to a particular anecdote in Accuser-3’s testimony in which she claims that…’ followed by a redacted section.
After the redacted text, the filing states: ‘While some may find this morally reprehensible, or even repugnant, it is perfectly legal and does not in any way establish a “sexual preference” for underage girls.
‘Moreover, to the extent the government is seeking to introduce Accuser-3’s evidence to show Epstein’s sexual preference for ‘young girls’ – which would include women who are young, but still above the age of consent like Accuser-3 – that would mislead the jury and invite them to convict Ms. Maxwell based on a moral judgment of sexual activity which, in the case of Accuser-3, was entirely legal’.
Maxwell’s lawyers stated that if the woman does give evidence then jurors should be told the age of consent in all the jurisdictions where she was allegedly trafficked to.
They include Florida, the US Virgin Islands – where Epstein had a private island – and the UK, the first time the scale of the alleged abuse for Minor Victim 3 has been revealed.
A letter from the prosecution argued that the woman’s evidence was relevant even if she was over the age of consent because it showed the ‘core of the conspiracy’ for which Maxwell is charged.
Maxwell, 59, denies all allegations against her, which cover a period between 1994 to 2004.
This is an excerpt from The Daily Mail.
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