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IN THE NEWS: Who is Ghislaine Maxwell ? A Biographical Timeline

Researched by Reona Alam

Courtroom sketch of Maxwell on trial.

 

Ghislaine Maxwell

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell recently went to trial in New York for helping her billionare ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein–a convicted sex offender–to groom and sexually abuse, underage girls. Here is a brief timeline of events leading up to her trial. (*)

 

  • On Christmas day of 1961, she was born to British newspaper baron Robert Maxwell, being the youngest of nine children.

  • By the age of fourteen, Miss Maxwell would have helped her father program a new suite of Wang computers.

  • She attended Marlborough College & Balliol College where she studied modern history with languages.

  • Miss Maxwell was a known socialite in the 1980’s who traveled widely as a consultant for her father.

  • In November of 1991, Robert Maxwell’s body was found floating at sea.

  • In 1991, Miss Maxwell permanently settled in New York City, following the arrest of her two brothers.

  • Around this time Ghislaine Maxwell befriends billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein. (Accounts differ as to when and where the two first met.)

  • Their relationship status is unclear. It was initially a romantic relationship, yet Epstein tells Vanity Fair that she was his “best friend” and that she organized most of his life.

  • In the mid 1990’s a civil court case is brought against Epstein that would allege that the pair met a number of underage girls who would accuse him of sexual abuse.

(The victims were an (at the time of abuse) unnamed 13 year old music student & and two teenage sisters named Marie and Annie Farmer.)

(L-R) Epstein and Maxwell were said to be close friends.

  • In 1999, while staying at Epstein’s Florida home, Maxwell first encountered Virginia Giuffre, who would accuse Epstein of sexual abuse in January of 2015. (The alleged victim was working at the Mar-a-Lago Resort, and was legally a minor at the time.)

  • In 2000, Ghisaline Maxwell moved to a New York City townhouse, which was a short distance from Epstein’s mansion.

  • In 2002, Mr. Trump praised Epstein as “a terrific guy” as well as approving his interest in young women.

  • In 2005, Palm Beach police began to investigate Epstein as a parent accused him of molesting their 14 year old step daughter. It was alleged that he had brought her into his home and paid her 300 dollars to give him a massage while he was naked.

  • An FBI search of his home revealed two cameras, a large number of photos of girls as well as an Amazon receipt for multiple books on sex slavery.

  • Epstein pleads guilty to child prostituion and soliciting a prostitute in 2008. He served 13 months of his 18 month sentence before he was released after a deal was made with state prosecutors, which allowed him to have a lighter sentence, despite the fact that federal officials could have identified at least 36 girls that could have made similar allegations against him.

  • A Miami Herald Journalist later writes that as many as 80 girls have been abused by the financier. 

  • In January of 2015, Giuffre’s civil action case against Epstein was brought back to light, revealing where she had alleged that Miss Maxwell introduced Giuffre to Epstein, saying that he would pay her for her services as a masseuse. Giuffre accused Maxwell of intending to groom her to provide sexual favors as well as engaging in trafficking of the underage girls.

  • Miss Maxwell denied Giuffre’s accusations and was then sued by her for defamation, eventually forcing Miss Maxwell to compensate her in May of 2017.

  • Around this time, it is revealed that Miss Maxwell got married in secret to Scott Borgerson.

  • In 2017, new cases were brought against Epstein by Sarah Ransome.

  • In 2019, more cases were brought against Epstein by Jennifer Araoz, Annie Farmer, and a Jane Doe.

  • In July of 2019, Epstein was arrested for a second time and charged with sex trafficking.

  • In August of 2019, Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan prison cell. His death was ruled a suicide.

  • In July of 2020, Miss Maxwell was finally located and arrested as the FBI tracked her phone through the calls she made to Scott Borgerson, her sister, and legal representatives. 

  • In March of 2021, additional sex trafficking cases were bought again Maxwell.

  • She made a virtual court appearance on July 14th, where she pleaded not guilty to the original six charges.

  • Around this time she was also denied bail.

  • Miss Maxwell’s trial date was set to begin on November 29th and is anticipated to last many weeks. 

     The Ghislaine Maxwell trial is bringing greater public awareness to the often hidden crime of underaged female sex trafficking.  It raises serious questions about the nature of legal consent and seduction, in the same way the high-profile Hollywood  “#MeToo” scandals of recent years have done. As more details come out about how Maxwell and Epstein exploited underaged women, it proves that even the rich and famous—people of any class, caste, or nationality— can become involved in this crime. Throughout the trial’s duration, various witnesses and victims took the stand to offer their side of the story, hoping that a court of law would hold Maxwell accountable for her actions.

An abuser and his accomplice?


[Because Maxwell’s trial had not yet ended as this story was being written, the RamPage will publish a more in-depth analysis of this controversial case and its social ramifications next month.]

 

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