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Ghislaine Maxwell jury begins deliberations after closings

Jeffrey Epstein Maxwell Trial
Posted at 8:22 PM, Dec 20, 2021
and last updated 2021-12-20 21:48:07-05

NEW YORK (AP) — The sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell is speeding to a conclusion.

The jury began deliberations late Monday in Manhattan federal court.

The jury went home after less than an hour.

According to the Associated Press, the jury will return Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Earlier, a prosecutor said during closing arguments that the 59-year-old Maxwell is a dangerous predator who helped Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.

A defense lawyer said Maxwell is an innocent woman wrongfully accused of crimes she did not commit.

During the trial, the jury heard the testimony of four women about how when they were teens they were alleged victims of a sex-abuse scheme devised by Maxwell and Epstein.

Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan federal jail cell in August 2019 as he awaited a sex trafficking trial.

Maxwell has been held without bail since she was arrested in July 2020.

She faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted on sex trafficking and perjury charges.