Ghislaine Maxwell’s testimony in a lawsuit related to her ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse activities has been made public.
Transcripts of depositions by the British socialite over two days in 2016, amounting to hundreds of pages, are being released after a ruling by a US judge.
Maxwell, 58, was interviewed by lawyers as part of a civil lawsuit brought against her by one of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who sued Maxwell for defamation after she called her a liar.
The lawsuit was eventually settled.
Ms Roberts Giuffre said she was trafficked by convicted sex offender Epstein.
She has also claimed she was pressured into having sex with Prince Andrew in 2001 when she was 17.
The prince has strenuously denied he had “any form of sexual contact or relationship” with Ms Roberts Giuffre, adding “any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation”.
Maxwell’s lawyers had argued that the documents should remain sealed in part to protect her right to a fair trial on charges she helped Epstein traffic and sexually abuse teenage girls in the 1990s.
She has pleaded not guilty and has been in custody since her arrest in early July. If convicted, she could face up to 35 years in prison.
An image appearing to show Prince Andrew and a 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre at Ghislaine Maxwell’s house in London in March 2001. Pic: Rex/Shutterstock
Maxwell’s arrest in July came a year after 66-year-old Epstein was detained and charged with sex trafficking.
He killed himself in August 2019 at a federal jail in Manhattan where he was awaiting trial without bail.
Prince Andrew has said he has no recollection of meeting Ms Roberts Giuffre and that a photo appearing to show them together at Maxwell’s house in London may have been doctored.