Prosecutors Get Showy During Maxwell Trial, Bring Epstein's Massage Table Into Court
Prosecutors in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell introduced a new piece of evidence in court Friday: a massage table police took from Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach, Florida mansion in 2005, according to The Associated Press.
An officer testified that the table shown in court was taken from the same room in the home that was identified by a woman who testified earlier this week that Maxwell instructed her and participated in sexual massages for Epstein, starting when the woman was 14 years old.
Maxwell denies the accusations of her finding and bringing underage victims to Epstein for over 20 years and occasionally participating in the sexual abuse of the young girls.
"Jane," as the woman who testified this week was introduced in court to protect her identity, said that she met Maxwell and Epstein in 1994, and the table was brought in by prosecutors to substantiate her testimony that massages on the table were the gateway to sexual abuse in the home.
Maxwell, 59, is accused of finding the girls, as well as grooming them by taking them shopping, including trips to Victoria's Secret for underwear and movies. She also allegedly talked to them about their personal lives. Prosecutors say she got to know the girls and started talking to them about sexual topics and would tell them what Epstein liked.
Also Friday, Juan Patricio Alessi, a former housekeeper at the Palm Beach home was cross-examined by the defense over his testimony from Thursday that "Jane" and other girls did visit the home multiple times.
For more reporting from The Associated Press, see below.
A police officer testified that investigators also seized records, computers and sex toys — a photo of which was shown to the jury — from the residence.
Prosecutors showed jurors a police videotape of the residence that captured images of nude photos on the walls - decor that federal prosecutors claim is proof of a sexualized atmosphere encouraged by Maxwell to put pressure on the victims.
The evidence was presented over defense objections calling it prejudicial. Defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim accused prosecutors of trying to unfairly depict Epstein's home as a "domicile of debauchery."
Maxwell denies the allegations against her, and her lawyers say prosecutors are going after her because they can't try Epstein, who committed suicide in jail before he could go to trial. She was Epstein's onetime girlfriend and, later, employee.
The accuser, using the pseudonym "Jane" to protect her privacy, testified earlier this week that when she first visited the Epstein home she was disturbed by "some paintings of, like, naked women or half-naked women." In the massage room off of a master bedroom Epstein and Maxwell shared, the pair were "showing me, you know, what he likes, what — you know, what men like, what women like."
A lawyer for Maxwell sought to discredit Alessi — who worked for Epstein from 1990 to 2002 — by confronting him with a deposition from a civil case that the defense says was inconsistent with his trial testimony.
Alessi claimed on Friday that none of the many young women who visited the Florida home alerted him to any misconduct.
"I wish they would have because I would have done something," he said.
