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Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein were 'partners in crime,' prosecutor says

Attorney for 59-year-old British socialite claims she's scapegoat in sex trafficking trial
Sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell during jury selection, Nov. 29, 2021
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Elizabeth Williams/AP
In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell sits at the defense table during final stages of jury selection, Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, in New York. Two years after Jeffrey Epstein's suicide behind bars, a jury in New York City is set to determine a central question in the long-running sex trafficking case: Was his longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's puppet or accomplice?
Sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell during jury selection, Nov. 29, 2021
Posted at 3:47 PM, Nov 29, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-29 15:49:18-05

NEW YORK — A prosecutor said Ghislaine Maxwell and the late Jeffrey Epstein were "partners in crime" in the sexual abuse of teenage girls.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz told the New York jury in opening statements Monday at Maxwell's sex trafficking trial that she is accused of recruiting and grooming girls for the financier to abuse from 1994 to 2004.

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Defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim countered in an opening statement that the 59-year-old British socialite was being made a scapegoat after Epstein killed himself two years ago.

Maxwell used to date Epstein and has been jailed in Brooklyn since her arrest. She claims she is innocent.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.