NEW YORK — Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial is set to begin in Manhattan on Monday — and the British socialite is the subject of a new documentary, “Chasing Ghislaine,” that is streaming on Discovery+.
Federal prosecutors say Maxwell, 59, recruited and groomed the late Jeffrey Epstein’s female victims to participate in a sex trafficking operation he allegedly ran. Investigators say some of the victims were as young as 14.
What You Need To Know
- Federal prosecutors say Ghislaine Maxwell recruited and groomed female victims to participate in a sex trafficking operation Jeffrey Epstein allegedly ran
- Investigators say some of the victim were as young as 14
- Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail complex in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges
- Maxwell has pleaded not guilty. If found guilty on all counts, she could face 70 years in prison
Maxwell, however is “the exact opposite of the kind of women that Jeffrey typically liked, in that she didn’t need to be molded by him at all,” said journalist Vicky Ward, the host of “Chasing Ghislaine.”
“She was far more worldly — she had a much more extensive Rolodex than he did,” Ward said.
Ward — who first profiled Jeffrey Epstein for Vanity Fair in 2002 — described Maxwell as an enigma.
“She was, in many ways, a gateway to this very shadowy world of men that Jeffrey Epstein managed to be so powerful in,” Ward said. “The idea of a privileged, educated woman doing this to… female children is just sort of unspeakably horrifying.”
Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail complex in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
“I think it’s really interesting to note how many important, powerful names of men have emerged since his death as being associated with him,” Ward said.
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to the charges she faces.
“One of the defense arguments that they tried to make right, that the judge ultimately disallowed, was that the prosecution is going after Maxwell because they couldn’t go after Epstein,” said Dmitriy Shakhnevich, an attorney and assistant adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “So, that’s going to be a big part of this case.”
Ward said the big question is whether or not the defense will put Maxwell on the stand.
“She is an incredibly compelling performer,” Ward said. “I know this because I ran into her over the years at various New York events. She is extraordinarily persuasive.”
Maxwell could face 70 years in prison if she is found guilty on all counts.
