THREAD: What does the indictment of Ghislaine Maxwell, who participated in Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of minors, tell us?

1/ Yesterday Maxwell was arrested by federal agents and taken into custody on charges in an indictment (link below) obtained by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/7061-u-s-v-ghislaine-maxwell-indict/96d918f9d16dbd14e656/optimized/full.pdf

2/ The indictment charges Maxwell with conspiring (between 1994 and 1997) with Epstein to entice minors to travel to engage in sex acts, and two related counts. The indictment also charges her with two counts of perjury for lying in a deposition in 2016. (More on that later.)

3/ Although you've likely read, seen, and heard a lot about Epstein's extensive and widespread abuse of minors (and Maxwell's role in it), that extensive scheme was *not* charged in this indictment.

4/ Why not? We don't know for sure, but in my experience, it is difficult for victims to testify against wrongdoers in cases like this.

In addition, prosecutors need witnesses who can prove that Maxwell *knew* they were underage *and* that they were being abused by Epstein.

5/ Her defense will likely be that she did not know the girls were being abused. She will claim that she would not have helped Epstein if she knew he would abuse underage girls. After all, it’s not a crime to work for a criminal unless you are in on the crime.

6/ I appreciate that to those of us who are aware of the many victims of Epstein's crimes, it is hard to believe that Maxwell wasn't in on the scheme.

But jurors will only be presented evidence of the specific crimes in this indictment, not all that we know publicly.

7/ The indictment charges Maxwell with participating in the abuse of three minor girls, who are called "Minor Victim-1", "Minor Victim-2," and "Minor Victim-3" in the indictment.

8/ The detailed descriptions of sexual abuse of those three victims in the indictment leaves little doubt that prosecutors intend to call all three as witnesses at trial.

Of the three, the testimony of Minor Victim-1 will be by far the most important.

9/ According to the indictment, Maxwell participated in "sexualized massages" with Epstein and Minor Victim-1 in which both of them engaged in sex acts with Epstein. That proves beyond any reasonable doubt that Maxwell knew about Epstein's abuse and participated in the abuse.

10/ The descriptions of Maxwell's knowledge of the abuse of Minor Victim-2 and Minor Victim-3 in the indictment are much more vague. She is not alleged to have been present during the abuse of those two victims or to have participated in that abuse.

11/ It's not clear what evidence prosecutors have to prove that Maxwell knew Victim-2 and Victim-3 were abused by Epstein. (That does not mean prosecutors have no evidence, but the lack of detail suggests that the evidence is less direct than the evidence regarding Victim-1.)

12/ It looks like a lot is riding on the testimony of Minor Victim-1. We don't know what other evidence prosecutors have regarding her knowledge that Epstein abused the girls she procured and groomed, but on its face, it appears the other evidence is indirect/circumstantial.

13/ (In addition, two of the five counts of the indictment relate *solely* to Victim-1. If she doesn't testify, they would have to be dismissed.)

SDNY's reliance on Victim-1 is risky. As I mentioned before, it can be difficult for victims to testify against their abuser.

14/ I think that's one reason why the SDNY added two perjury counts to the indictment. Those counts will be easier to prove because Maxwell denied any knowledge of Epstein's activity whatsoever.

15/ For example, Maxwell testified that she never gave anyone a massage (including Epstein) and that no sex toys were present at Epstein's home. It will be easier to convince jurors that she was lying even if victims back out or have difficulty testifying on the witness stand.

16/ Even if Maxwell is only convicted of perjury, the judge can take into account her role in Epstein's sexual abuse at sentencing even if she is acquitted on those charges, as long as the judge finds by a preponderance of the evidence (51%) that she participated in them.

17/ At this point, it's clear that Maxwell is not cooperating with SDNY. If she ever decides to do so, she would have to admit *all* of her criminal activity to them, and she still would face a significant criminal sentence even if she cooperated.

18/ To get her to cooperate against other Epstein associates, you can expect SDNY to work hard to gather additional evidence with the goal of expanding these charges in the months ahead in order to make their case against Maxwell stronger and put more pressure on her.

19/ The SDNY website asks other victims to come forward. Their testimony might help SDNY obtain Maxwell's guilty plea and cooperation. As is, it looks like there will be a challenging trial that hinges on the testimony of Victim-1. For her sake, I hope that is not needed. /end