First accuser takes stand in Ghislaine Maxwell sex-abuse trial

An accuser of Ghislaine Maxwell - a woman known by the pseudonym Jane - began testifying in the British socialite's sex-abuse trial in Manhattan on Tuesday. Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-abuse charges.

An accuser of Ghislaine Maxwell - a woman known by the pseudonym Jane - began testifying in the British socialite's sex-abuse trial in Manhattan on Tuesday. Maxwell, 59, faces sex trafficking and other charges for allegedly recruiting and grooming Jane and three other underage girls for deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004. She has pleaded not guilty, and her lawyers have said she is being scapegoated for Epstein's alleged crimes.

Jane testified that she met Epstein in 1994 when she was 14 years old and had sexual contact with him multiple times while she was 14. Maxwell was in the room on some of those occasions, Jane said. When asked by Assistant U.S. District Attorney Alison Moe whether she could identify Maxwell in the courtroom, Jane pointed toward the defendant and said, "Right there in the corner wearing sort of a beige turtleneck."

In opening statements, a defense attorney for Maxwell described Jane as a talented singer who received Epstein's financial assistance. The attorney said Jane never accused Maxwell of wrongdoing before Epstein died, and told the jury to listen for "internal inconsistencies" in Jane's testimony. Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-abuse charges.

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