Share this @internewscast.com

NEW YORK (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell faced a judge in person for the first time Friday as lawyers squabbled over exactly when she should be tried on sex trafficking charges alleging that she procured teenage girls for Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse at his posh residences.

Maxwell, a British socialite and one-time girlfriend of Epstein, pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy and an additional sex trafficking charge that were added in a rewritten indictment released last month by a Manhattan federal court grand jury. The new indictment stretched the timespan of the charges from three years to a decade.

Her lawyers maintain they need months of additional preparation because of the new charges, making it impossible to keep a July 12 trial date. Prosecutors have said the new charges should not require substantial additional work because they add a single victim to the three victims already described in the indictment.

The judge didn’t make an immediate decision on a possible new date for the trial, but told lawyers she wants to avoid a long delay.

Maxwell, 59, has been in custody at a federal lockup in Brooklyn since her arrest last July at a $1 million New Hampshire estate where her lawyers say she went to live to avoid the spotlight of media attention and to remain safe from threats. Prosecutors, though, say she took steps to hide her whereabouts and movements.

Maxwell has failed three times to be granted bail despite offering a $28.5 million package and agreeing to live with electronic monitoring and armed guards who would ensure she does not leave a New York City residence. The U.S. citizen also has offered to give up citizenship in the United Kingdom and France. A bail appeal hearing is scheduled next week before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In court documents, prosecutors say Maxwell recruited at least three teenage girls, including a 14-year-old, between 1994 and 1997 for Epstein to sexually abuse. The superseding indictment says another teenage girl was recruited in the early 2000s when she was 14. The indictment alleges Maxwell sometimes joined the abuse.

A lawyer for Maxwell requested the in-person arraignment Friday, citing “media coverage” and a “debacle” that occurred during a remote hearing in a related civil case before another judge when members of the public clogged up a line provided by the court for people outside the courthouse to listen to the proceeding.

Epstein took his own life at a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 while awaiting a sex-trafficking trial.

Source: huffpost

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Menendez Brothers: New Court Date Set for Brothers Accused of Killing Parents in California

Despite the prosecution’s efforts, the Menendez brothers’ resentencing hearing has been scheduled.…

Individual Confesses to Assisting Officer in Disposing of Body in River Following Murder

Inset: Joshua Rogers (Shelby County Jail via WREG). Screenshot: Former Memphis police…

New Appeal in Case of ‘Brutal’ Double Murder as 25th Anniversary Approaches

Police have issued a fresh plea for information over the unsolved murder…

States Take Legal Action Against Trump’s Dubious Energy Emergency Declaration

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office at the…

Tragic Incident: 12-Year-Old Fatally Shot During Music Video Shoot, Police Report

Inset: Ethan Parker (Facebook/Zakia Brice). Background: The residence where Ethan Parker was…

Lawsuit Claims Negligent Snow Removal Caused Water Polo Coach’s Death

Colleen Lischwe, center (McKendree University). The husband of a well-regarded water polo…

Preschool teacher detained for striking a child

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Paige Julia Nachwalter, age 26, was detained…

Police Report: Man Found Transporting Mother’s Body in Car Covered with McDonald’s Wrappers

Inset: Kevin Ahn (Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office). A man from Pennsylvania…

Teenager Suspected of Trying to Enter AFL Game with Fake Gun

A teenage boy has allegedly been caught trying to smuggle weapons into…

Tragic Incident: Mother and Sons Killed by Husband Despite Plea for Help

Left: Jeremy Koch (GoFundMe). Right: Front: Bailey and Hudson Koch. Back: Jeremy…

Mother Sentenced to Prison for Molesting Her Son’s Teenage Friend

Natalie Sorrells (Rockwall County Jail via KFDW). A Texas mom is spending…

Bridge House Resident Arrested for Indecent Exposure and Lewd Conduct

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Joshuia Bernard Jenkins, 35, who was participating…