Evidence in Ghislaine Maxwell case includes 'sexualized images'
NEW YORK — Highly confidential evidence in the Ghislaine Maxwell case includes “nude, partially nude, or otherwise sexualized images (and) videos,” a new court filing revealed Monday.
Maxwell is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn without bail while awaiting trial for grooming underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse. Prosecutors say she at times participated in the abuse of girls she manipulated.
The description of the evidence was included in a 13-page document placing restrictions on evidence that Manhattan federal prosecutors will share with Maxwell’s defense team.
When the FBI raided Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion last year, investigators found a stash of nude photographs of underage girls.
Prosecutors and Maxwell’s legal teams asked Judge Alison Nathan to resolve two disputes about the evidence. Maxwell’s attorneys wanted any witnesses — including alleged victims — to not be allowed to use evidence for any purpose beyond prepping for her criminal trial.
Many of Maxwell’s accusers have pending lawsuits against her, which could be impacted by new evidence revealed through the criminal case.
Her attorneys also said they should be allowed to name victims involved in the criminal case who have already spoken out publicly about Epstein and Maxwell’s alleged sex trafficking scheme.
Maxwell, 58, unsuccessfully sought a gag order last week restricting the feds and victims’ attorneys from talking about the charges against her. The British socialite is also charged with lying under oath.
Epstein hanged himself last year while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. Maxwell has pleaded not guilty and argues she’s wrongly replaced Epstein in the public eye.
“Sometimes the simplest point is the most critical one: Ghislaine Maxwell is not Jeffrey Epstein,” her attorney Mark Cohen wrote.
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