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

Tragic Pool Accident: Two Young Brothers Drown, Urgent Safety Measures Highlighted

Share A Mississippi mother is under scrutiny following the tragic deaths of…

Texas Man Faces Charges in Fatal Assault of Schoolteacher Wife

A Texas man is facing charges for the murder of his wife,…

North Carolina Justice Department Penalized by Judge for ‘Widespread Issues

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson speaks at a press conference (NCDOJ).…

Disgraced MP Stripped of Seat and Freedom After Embezzling $435k in Public Funds

A former member of parliament, now disgraced, has been sentenced to a…

Husband Charged in Tragic Murder of Young Mother of Two

A man from New York state is facing serious charges following the…

Tragic Incident: Woman Fatally Attacked by Partner Months After Domestic Violence Conviction

A tragic incident unfolded in Connecticut as a 67-year-old man, already convicted…

Man Who Threatened to Assassinate Trump in First Year Receives Sentence

President Donald Trump attends the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington…

Investigator Reveals Suspect in Chilling Case of Teen Found in D4vd’s Tesla

A private investigator handling the mysterious case of Celeste Rivas has taken…

Mother Claims She ‘Snapped’ in Tragic Incident Leading to Death of Autistic 6-Year-Old Son

In a tragic incident on Sunday, a Florida mother has been taken…

Police Report: Son Shows No Remorse After Allegedly Killing Father Over $5,000 Debt

Alfred Juarez Jr. (KGET/YouTube). In a chilling case out of California, a…

Authorities Conduct Thorough Search of Rural Toowoomba Property in Connection to Alleged Dismemberment Case

A man has been charged with murder as police search for the…

Father Sentenced in Tragic Corporal Punishment Case Resulting in Son’s Death

Derrick Coles (Bexar County Jail). Background: The street in Texas where Coles…