“Ghislaine Maxwell is not Jeffrey Epstein,” the lawyers stated. “She was not named in the government’s indictment of Epstein in 2019, despite the fact that the government has been investigating this case for years. Instead, the current indictment is based on allegations of conduct that allegedly occurred roughly twenty-five years ago. Ms. Maxwell vigorously denies the charges, intends to fight them, and is entitled to the presumption of innocence.”
Annie Farmer, who has alleged that as a teenager she was assaulted by Epstein at his ranch in New Mexico after Maxwell encouraged her to give her host a massage, begged to differ.
Speaking via video conference at Maxwell’s bail hearing, Farmer said, “I met Ghislaine Maxwell when I was 16 years old. She is a sexual predator who groomed and abused me and countless other children and young women. She has never shown any remorse for her heinous crimes or the devastating, lasting effects her actions caused.”
Bail was denied and U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan remanded Maxwell to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Her trial date was set for July 12, 2021.
“Knowing that she is incarcerated for the foreseeable future allows me, and my fellow survivors, to have faith that we are on the right path,” Jennifer Araoz, who previously accused Epstein of raping her when she was 15, said in a statement to NBC News after the hearing. “I would like to thank both the prosecutors and the judge for taking us one step closer to seeing that justice is served.”
A lot can happen in a year—as a lot can happen in just a few weeks, making it seem as if it’s been far longer since Maxwell was arrested.
