Epstein Accuser Claims Sex Predator Took Her to Meet Trump When She Was 14, Alleges No Wrongdoing
08:03 GMT 02.12.2021 (Updated: 14:05 GMT 19.12.2022)
© REUTERS / JANE ROSENBERG
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A female Jeffrey Epstein accuser was the first of four to take the stand in a downtown Manhattan courtroom at the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite facing a six-count indictment for sex trafficking children, perjury and the enticement of minors while a close associate of the late convicted pedophile.
As a Jeffrey Epstein accuser – a woman under the pseudonym of “Jane” - took the stand on Wednesday at the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, she claimed the convicted pedophile took her to meet Donald Trump at his Florida club Mar-a-Lago when she was 14 years old.
The accuser, known as Minor Victim-1 in a federal indictment, was facing a cross-examination by Maxwell’s defence team in the downtown Manhattan courtroom of US District Court Judge Alison J Nathan.
Ghislaine Maxwell, allegedly a “pimp”, or “madam” of Epstein, faces six charges over her involvement with the late billionaire: one each of enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking of a minor, and three counts of conspiracy related to the other counts.
Ghislaine Maxwell, the Jeffrey Epstein associate accused of sex trafficking, stands before U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan with her defense team of Bobbi Sternheim and Christian Everdell during a pre-trial hearing ahead of jury selection, in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S., November 15, 2021
© REUTERS / JANE ROSENBERG
If convicted, Maxwell, who pleaded not guilty on all charges, faces up to 80 years in prison.
Maxwell’s lawyer Laura Menninger questioned the accuser regarding her account of a meeting with Donald Trump given to federal investigators.
As Menninger asked:
“Mr. Epstein introduced you to Donald Trump, correct?”
“Jane” replied, “Yes.” According to “Jane”, Jeffrey Epstein took her to Mar-a-Lago in a dark green car.
The woman who claims she was sexually abused by the convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell did not allege any improper conduct by Trump, who socialised with Epstein for years, when she met him at his resort.
FILE - In this July 10, 2019 file photo, palm trees shade the Florida residence of Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach, Fla. The FBI said Thursday July 2, 2020, Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was accused by many women of helping procure underage sex partners for Epstein, has been arrested in New Hampshire. The court papers said Epstein's abuse of girls occurred at his Manhattan mansion and other residences in Palm Beach, Florida; Sante Fe, New Mexico and London. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
© AP Photo / Wilfredo Lee
The accuser also stopped short of characterising what happened at the alleged meeting with Trump, only adding that she had competed in the 1998 Miss Teen USA beauty pageant, which is an event associated with the former POTUS.
“Jane” also testified that she flew on Epstein's private plane, dubbed the “Lolita Express”, several times along with Prince Andrew, celebrity chef Adam Perry Lang and Epstein's mother and brother.
Epstein’s longtime pilot, Larry Visoski, who testified on Tuesday, claimed he remembered encountering “Jane” on one of his flights. He added that he had not been aware she was a minor at the time.
According to the woman’s testimony, none of the plane passengers committed any wrongdoing. She added during the cross-examination that Jeffrey Epstein never requested that she recruit other girls for alleged sex acts.
There has not been any comment from the former president’s spokesperson.
This photo shows the Manhattan residence of Jeffrey Epstein, Monday July 8, 2019, in New York
© AP Photo / Bebeto Matthews
Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with running a sex trafficking network of minors in 2019, died in his Manhattan cell on 10 August while awaiting trial, having pleaded not guilty to the charges.
When Epstein was arrested in 2019, a month before his death, Trump addressed questions over his past praise of the New York financier.
"Well I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him… He was a fixture of Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago, I don't think I've spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn't a fan," said Trump.
Previously, in 2002, he was cited by the New York Magazine as saying that Epstein was "a terrific guy" and "a lot of fun to be with."
“Jane” is the first of the accusers to testify at the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, which began on 29 November.
According to the woman, she met Maxwell and Epstein in 1994 when she was 14, with the duo taking her to do fun “casual stuff”.
Jeffrey Epstein Associate
© AP Photo / John Minchillo
However, the accuser claimed there followed a pattern of sexual abuse at the hands of Epstein, with Maxwell at times joining in, both in Palm Beach and Manhattan when “Jane” was 14, 15 and 16 years old.
On one occasion cited by the woman Maxwell "instructed" her how the financier liked to be massaged while the three were in his "massage room."
“Jane” also named several other women that were allegedly involved in the “sexualised massages" or “orgies" as she referred to them, claiming that she could possibly recognise them in photos.
According to prosecutors, Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein created a "pyramid scheme of abuse" to lure underage girls into sexual relationships with the billionaire. However, the defence team of Maxwell, arrested on 2 July 2020 and accused of grooming young girls and women for the late multimillionaire, she was a "scapegoat" for Epstein's actions.
Four alleged victims of Epstein’s abuse are expected to testify in court in the coming days, with proceedings set to last about six weeks with a brief pause over Christmas.
