Maxwell accuser testifies the British socialite was present when Epstein abuse occurred

The first accuser in the Ghislaine Maxwell sexual abuse trial took the stand on Tuesday and alleged that the British socialite was present when she was sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein.

The accuser — who is identified only as “Jane” — took the stand on the second day of the trial to testify on the alleged abuse she says she suffered because of Epstein and Maxwell, which began when she was just 14-years-old, The New York Times reported. 

When asked by the prosecution who was “most frequently in the room” when she had sexual contact with Jeffrey Epstein, Jane said that it was Maxwell, according to The Guardian.

Jane said she met both Epstein and Maxwell at a Michigan summer camp in 1994. At the time, they allegedly told her they gave scholarships to talented young students.

She said Maxwell, who came across like a big sister figure, was “odd, but nice”.

According to the Times, Jane testified that Maxwell started talking to her about sex, and she began going to Epstein’s house on an average of once every week or two. 

On one visit to his house, Jane said Epstein told her he could facilitate introductions to talent agents, and then took her into the pool house and pulled down his sweatpants.

She then said  that he pulled her on top of him and “proceeded to masturbate on me” before leaving. Jane testified that she was “frozen in fear,” the Times reported.

In another incident, Maxwell was also present and kissed and fondled Epstein in front of her, Jane testified. She said that she traveled to Epstein’s houses in New Mexico and New York with Maxwell at least 10 times between the ages of 14 and 16.

Jane was invited to Epstein’s house and said she remembered Maxwell being topless or naked by the pool along with four other women, The Independent reported.

She said that Epstein paid for her voice lessons, clothes and school supplies, and gave her cash for her struggling mother. He also told her his social circle included “Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Mike Wallace.”

She also testified that Epstein would use sex toys on her even if she told him it hurt.

“He liked to use vibrators, which were of different sizes. He liked to use the back massagers, which were really painful,” she said.

However, Maxwell’s lawyer Bobbi C. Sternheim, said that Jane was an actress and singer in Hollywood who only came forward in order to claim money from the compensation fund that was established for Epstein’s victims, the Times reported.

“She is a pro at playing roles,” Sternheim said. He also questioned why she only came forward in 2019 after Epstein was found dead in his jail cell.

Maxwell is accused of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse underage girls. 

Maxwell and Epstein were alleged to have “exploited girls as young as 14, including by enticing them to travel and transporting them for the purpose of engaging in illegal sex acts” during the 1990s, according to a 2020 indictment.

Sternheim argued that Maxwell is being made a “scapegoat for a man who behaved badly,” according to The Associated Press. “The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, but she is not Jeffrey Epstein,” Sternheim said.

In addition to Jane, three accusers are set to testify in the trial, which is expected to last until at least January.