Ghislaine Maxwell, ex-partner of Jeffrey Epstein, who has been accused of sexual abuse, refuses to testify in the trial against her. “The state authorities have not proven their case beyond doubt. So there is no reason for me to testify, "said the 59-year-old on Friday, according to US media reports, when the judge asked whether she wanted to take the stand. In the trial against the longtime confidante of the deceased multimillionaire Epstein, the prosecutor wants to convince the jury that Maxwell played a central role in the abuse of minors. 

Maxwell is charged on six counts and faces many years in prison if convicted.

She had always denied the allegations.

Her lawyers presented the case as a legal settlement to her client, since the public prosecutor could no longer prosecute Epstein.

She was made the scapegoat for Epstein's actions.

The closing arguments should start earlier than expected on Monday.

According to CNN, the jury would then have two days until Wednesday for their deliberations before the court closes for the Christmas holidays.

However, they could also meet in the following week for further deliberations in order to reach a judgment.

"Mixture of employee and best friend"

The Maxwell trial began in late November. It was initially expected that it would last six weeks. The cases to be tried range from 1994 to 2004 and the alleged crimes are said to have been committed in Epstein's mansions in New York, Florida, Santa Fe and London. There was never a trial against the well-connected multimillionaire and acquaintances of Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Bill Gates or the British Prince Andrew, among others, because he was found dead in his prison cell in 2019. Coroners concluded that Epstein had committed suicide.

Ghislaine Maxwell is the daughter of the legendary British publisher Robert Maxwell (1923-1991) and came to New York in the early 1990s.

She met Jeffrey Epstein at one of the numerous celebrity parties and was at times his girlfriend.

Epstein's environment described their role in his life as a mixture of employee and best friend.