Alleged Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell tries to stop accusers posting 'sexualized' images online
Lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell have submitted an order to a judge that attempts to prevent her accusers from posting evidence online before her trial begins, documents show.
Epstein, the disgraced financier, killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell on Aug. 10 last year as he awaited trial for sex trafficking. Maxwell, a former socialite and one-time girlfriend of Epstein, was arrested recently in New Hampshire, after a period in apparent hiding. She has pleaded not guilty to luring girls who Epstein abused, and is currently being held without bail. Her trial is set for July 2021.
According to the Independent , Maxwell’s lawyers want to stop prosecutors — who are working with women who accuse her of grooming them for Epstein — from publishing any information online. Her lawyers say this includes “nude, partially nude or otherwise sexualised images, videos or other depictions of individuals.”
According to allegations made in her indictment, 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”.
Her lawyers say if any material is made public ahead of the trial, it could add fuel to ongoing civil suits between Maxwell and potential witnesses. “There is a substantial concern that these individuals will seek to use discovery materials to support their civil cases and future public statements,” the lawyers said.
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Maxwell’s lawyers are also fighting to name her accusers publicly in court — not only those suing her, but anybody who has been interviewed in the media or posted an accusation online.
According to Bloomberg, prosecutors said the request was “extraordinarily broad, unnecessary and inappropriate.”
Meanwhile, a separate report in the Daily Mai l says Maxwell allegedly took photos of young, topless girls and kept them at Epstein’s Florida property. That’s according to a former butler of hers, Juan Alessi, who also said he had been given money to pay girls who massaged Maxwell and Epstein.
In an unsealed deposition dating from 2016 and reported by the Mail, Alesi said: “And I remember that she had. Like a hobby … It was some girls were topless, taking the sun.” Alesi said Maxwell insisted the girls didn’t reveal “any vaginal or things.” She “had an album full of photographs of people, young girls, girls,” he said.