Maxwell Assails Sex-Abuse Case in Request to Dismiss Charges
Ghislaine Maxwell, the former British socialite who’s accused of sex-trafficking with her ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein, asked a court to throw out all charges against her, saying the government violated her rights to obtain evidence, has presented vague allegations and is depriving her of a fair trial.
Maxwell has been fighting the U.S. charges since her arrest last July. She’s accused of conspiring with Epstein to provide him with underage girls so he could sexually abuse them and also with participating in some of the abuse.
Her lawyers argued in a series of filings late Monday that the government’s case against her is a “mishmash” that fails to identify an accuser, a date on which she’s alleged to have committed any crime or any acts she took to help further the conspiracy.
The government’s indictment was “was carefully crafted to not provide Ms. Maxwell with the necessary information to adequately investigate these false allegations and prepare for trial,” the defense lawyers said.
If the judge doesn’t agree to dismiss the four charges involving the alleged sex-trafficking scheme, prosecutors should be required to provide a so-called “bill of particulars” that lays our more details about the alleged crimes, her lawyers said.
“Ms. Maxwell is innocent and should not have to guess about what evidence the government claims warrants her continual incarceration but stubbornly refuses to identify or disclose,” her attorneys said.
Her team also argued that the indictment was “procured” by having a grand jury in the suburb of White Plains, New York, hear her case rather than one in Manhattan. As a result, the panel was predominantly White, whiles Blacks and Hispanics were excluded, in violation of Maxwell’s constitutional right to a fair trial, the attorneys said.
Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss, declined to comment. Prosecutors are scheduled to file a response to Maxwell in the coming weeks.
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