Maxwell jury makes more requests, does not appear close to verdict

In its third full day of deliberations Monday, the jury in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell issued more requests to Judge Alison J. Nathan. Last week, the jury asked to review the testimony of the four Maxwell accusers, along with former Epstein housekeeper Juan Patricio Alessi.

Monday’s jury requests included more testimony, specifically from an ex-boyfriend of one of the Maxwell accusers. The ex-boyfriend has been given the pseudonym “Matt” to protect his identity. He dated one of the Maxwell accusers, who is going by the pseudonym “Jane”, from 2006-2014.

Matt testified that Jane told him about the abuse she said she suffered at the hands of Maxwell’s associate Jeffrey Epstein. Max said Jane told him “having a woman there made her feel more comfortable” during her encounters with Epstein. However, Matt said Jane did not tell him the woman she was talking about was Maxwell until Maxwell was arrested last July.

The jury also asked to review testimony from Gregory Parkinson, a former police officer who in 2005 searched Epstein’s Palm Beach, Florida home.

In addition to testimony, the Maxwell jury’s Monday requests included a white paper board and different color post-it notes and highlighters. The request for office supplies suggests jurors are carefully scrutinizing the accounts of the four Maxwell accusers.

The jury also asked Nathan for a definition of the word “enticement”. Maxwell is facing one charge of enticing an underage girl to travel for illegal sexual activity and another count of conspiracy to do the same. These charges surround Jane, who testified that her abuse began when she was 14.

Nathan referred the jury to her legal instructions that she read to them just before they began deliberations last week. She said she would reply that “entice means to attract, induce or lure using hope or desire,” citing previous court cases.

Monday marked the third straight day of jury deliberations that included requests of the judge. The jury has given little hint of its overall progress on the six charges Maxwell is facing, and the request for the office supplies indicates it has significant work remaining.