Ghislaine Maxwell reportedly ready to testify in court

Ghislaine Maxwell reportedly ready to testify in court

Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial begins in New York on Monday, November 29. According to the Mail on Sunday, 59-year-old Maxwell is prepared to take the stand and fight ‘to save her own life’, and clear her name.

Maxwell faces spending the rest of her life in prison if found guilty, and a source close to the defendant reportedly told the newspaper, “Ghislaine is absolutely prepared to take the stand. She is prepared to do whatever it takes to save her own life. She has never shied away from the truth, and she is looking forward to her day in court”.

Adding, “Ghislaine is not over-confident by any means but she knows she is telling the truth. She has no fear about getting in the witness box”.

It is highly unusual in cases like this one – which is a high-profile sex abuse trial – for a defendant to testify. Normally, it is left to the prosecutors to prove them guilty, which puts a lot of pressure on them. Ms Maxwell pleaded not guilty to all charges and even told The Mail on Sunday, “I am innocent”.

It is believed that Ms Maxwell is fearful of being made a scapegoat for the crimes carried out by the disgraced paedophile financier, Jeffrey Epstein, with whom she had a relationship. Designer outfits have been tailor-made for Ms Maxwell for the trial after she lost so much weight while on remand awaiting her trial.

In the course of the trial, four women were due to come forward, alleging to have been victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Epstein and Maxwell. The judge has already ruled that testimony from two of them can not be used to convict Ms Maxwell in court.

This is because, at the time of the alleged incidents, the women were not underage in the country where the offences supposedly took place. As the source explained, “One is a British accuser, who was 17 when the alleged activities took place, but that is above the legal age in the UK”.

Annie Farmer, another of Maxwell’s accusers, was 16 at the time she alleges the sexual assault took place. This was in New Mexico, where 16 is the legal age of consent. The source commented, “This is a huge blow to the prosecution. They cannot prove two of their witnesses were underage, so the judge will instruct the jury that their testimony cannot be used to convict Ghislaine”, as reported by dailymail.co.uk.

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