Ghislaine Maxwell is on trial for trafficking and her association with Jeffrey Epstein. In this first installment of our Ghislaine Maxwell series, we are looking at how Maxwell’s story began and her association with Epstein.
Who Is Ghislaine?
Ghislaine Maxwell grew up in Britain as the daughter of newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell. Ghislaine was undoubtedly her father’s favorite child and lived in the shadow of his fame and wealth. After his mysterious death in 1991, news broke that Robert was embezzling money from his company.
Ghislaine quickly became the object of ridicule in place of her father. It’s unclear what she did in the following years, but by 1997 she had rebranded herself as a New York socialite with famous connections including Henry Kissinger and Bill Clinton.
By the early 2000s, Ghislaine and Epstein had united to become a power couple with famous friends and countless secrets.
Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein was an American financier born and raised in New York. He began his career as a teacher at Dalton Academy, a private school for the children of the rich and famous. In the late 1970s, Jeffrey Epstein was recruited by Bear Stearns and became a partner within four years.
By 1985 he had already started his own firm and begun spending his time spending his fortune on boats, property, and airplanes. His relationship with Ghislaine accentuated his network due to her connections with wealthy British politicians and American celebrities.
G&E
Ghislaine and Jeffrey Epstein became the power couple of an empire no one could access without connections. For decades, they ruled the roost and provided the unbelievably wealthy with whatever they were willing to pay for.
In 2019, news broke of a secret child sex ring run by Jeffrey Epstein. Stories about his island and the grooming of minors to satisfy his guests began to appear in headlines, and soon after, police took Epstein into custody. He was put on suicide watch immediately, but Epstein was found dead in his cell despite increased security.
The Trial
While Ghislaine isn’t on trial for Epstein’s crimes, she is also charged with sex trafficking and grooming minors. The central point, in this case, is the concept of grooming which has no legal definition.
The prosecution is trying to prove that Ghislaine knowingly recruited young girls for Epstein by grooming them. This concept isn’t new, but this is the first time it’s been used as a device in court.
Essentially, grooming is the process abusers use to slowly insinuate that abuse is normal to their victims. This is most often used to convince children that sexual acts are “normal” and permissible. In Maxwell’s case, many of the victims who have come forward have stated that she would have them massage Epstein, which eventually evolved into sexual contact and eventually intercourse.
Why This Case Is Historic
This could be a landmark case that may redefine how sex trafficking and child sex abuse cases are prosecuted. Not only will the prosecutor be defining grooming in a legal context, but they will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ghislaine recruited and groomed minors in order to traffic them. This case could create a precedent for grooming to become a crime that can be prosecuted in court.
The Draskovich Law Group will continue to follow the Maxwell trial as it unfolds.