Ghislaine Maxwell 'told British teenager to take Jeffrey Epstein tea in school uniform'

Ghislaine Maxwell told a British teenager to take Jeffrey Epstein tea in a school uniform, her New York sex trafficking trial heard on Monday.

A witness testifying under the pseudonym Kate told the Manhattan federal court that on one occasion she was staying at Epstein’s Palm Beach home aged 18. She found what she described as a “schoolgirl outfit” with white socks and white “panties” laid out on her guest room bed.

When she asked Ms Maxwell what it was for, she told the court that Ms Maxwell replied: “I thought it would be fun for you to take Jeffrey his tea in this outfit.”

Kate, who is now in her 40s, put the costume on, and Ms Maxwell gave her a tray; she found Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender, by the pool. He initiated a sex act with her, she told the jury.

Afterwards, she alleges that Ms Maxwell told her, "You're such a good girl, I'm so happy you were able to come”. Kate said she “didn’t know how to say no”.

US District Judge Alison Nathan had earlier instructed the jury that any sexual encounters she described were not "illegal sex acts” due to age of consent and they could not reach their verdict based on Kate’s testimony alone.

The trial was on its sixth day and is expected to last six weeks. Ms Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sex trafficking and other charges.

---

11:32 PM

Five key things heard today

That is all for today's proceedings. Here are five key things we have heard.

1. Jeffrey Epstein transferred tens of millions of pounds to Ghislaine Maxwell over eight years, some of which was used to purchase a helicopter, the New York federal court heard after previously unseen bank statements were shown.

2. An FBI special agent testified to the court that evidence “went missing” from financier Epstein’s New York townhouse while authorities were waiting on a warrant.

3. Ghislaine Maxwell told a British teenager to take Epstein tea in a school uniform, a witness 'Kate', now in her 40s, told jurors in testimony.

4. Kate also told the trial Ms Maxwell asked her as a teenager if she “had fun” after emerging from a “sexualised massage” with Epstein at the socialite’s London flat.

5. Earlier before proceedings began, Ghislaine Maxwell’s siblings pleaded for “justice and common humanity” in the socialite’s detention conditions, particularly four-point shackles, in a letter to the US Attorney General.

---

11:12 PM

Socialite 'bought helicopter with £23 million from Epstein'

Jeffrey Epstein transferred tens of millions of pounds to Ghislaine Maxwell over eight years, some of which was used to purchase a helicopter, a New York court has heard on the sixth day of the socialite's sex trafficking trial.

Bank statements shown for the first time detailed wire transfers of £13.8 million in 1999, £3.7m in 2002 and £5.5m in 2007, in evidence that offered an extraordinary insight into how the heiress financed her lavish lifestyle.

The prosecution hopes that the vast sums of money - still only a fraction of Epstein’s estimated £475m fortune - can show that Ms Maxwell was close to Epstein and his crimes.

The transfers shown to the court saw Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender, cashing out shares and wiring to accounts in the name of both Ms Maxwell and “Air Ghislaine Inc.”

The latter payment, in June 2007, came from an account linked to Epstein in the US Virgin Islands and was transferred from Ms Maxwell’s personal account with JP Morgan to a company called Air Ghislaine Inc. That company then purchased a green Sikorsky S76C helicopter and down payment on an “executive finish”.

Ms Maxwell, 59, who has spent the last 15 months in a federal prison in Brooklyn, offered some £21.1 million in bond last year in an attempt to secure her release ahead of her sex-trafficking trial. She has also set aside £5.2m for her legal defence.

The revelations help explain some part of Ms Maxwell's vast wealth, which was previously a mystery.

---

11:06 PM

FBI agent tells Maxwell trial of 'missing' CDs in Epstein raid

By Josie Ensor, US Correspondent

An FBI special agent testified to a New York court in Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial on Monday that evidence “went missing” from Jeffrey Epstein’s New York townhouse while authorities were waiting on a warrant.

Special Agent Kelly Maguire recalled how CDs and other items were recovered by the FBI from a locked safe during an initial search of the Manhattan home on July 6 and into July 7, 2019, after Epstein’s arrest on sex assault charges.

The FBI agent said officers broke open the safe with a saw, finding the CDs, jewellery, computer hard drives, "loose diamonds", passports and “large amounts of US currency.”

They took evidence photographs of the items, but left them at the residence as they did not have the warrant to remove them. When they returned four days later, on July 11, they were no longer there.

Agent Macguire said she then called Richard Kahn, Epstein’s lawyer who now serves as the executor of the later financier’s estate, to ask what happened to the items.

“Twenty to thirty minutes after the conversation, Richard Kahn came to the residence and brought them items back in two suitcases,” Agent Maguire said.

She could not confirm the content on the returned CDs was the same as the ones that were taken, but confirmed all the items were accounted for.

Boxes of CDs and hard drives were discovered in several rooms in Epstein’s eight-storey Upper East Side apartment in Manhattan, including in a so-called massage room. Some, Agent McGuire testified, had “evidence tape” sealing them. She told the court the tape had not been put there by police.

Another FBI who took to the stand on the sixth day of Ms Maxwell sex-trafficking trial confirmed one CD contained a photograph of the British socialite and Epstein.

Ms Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sex trafficking and other charges.

---

10:58 PM

'She's not on trial for life', says Maxwell's brother outside NY courthouse

By Jamie Johnson in New York

This evening, Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother Kevin spoke outside the court pleading for help from the US Attorney General to address concerns about the way she is being detained.

Ms Maxwell's family made a similar personal plea in a letter earlier on Monday (see 3:07pm post).

She is brought to the court and taken out in shackles which cause her to bleed and bruise, while the food she has been given was described as “inadequate.”

“She's on trial for her life, and she received no food on the first day,” he said.

“She received a boiled egg. She is lucky if it is not mouldy. She received a couple of pieces of bread and a banana or an apple. And that is literally everything from 630 in the morning to 730 at night when she gets back to the detention centre,” he added.

---

10:41 PM

Full court exchanges: Witness claims she was asked to take Epstein tea in school uniform

Here's more from the witness that was at the centre of Monday's court proceedings, testifying under the pseudonym Kate, who said she was asked to take Jeffrey Epstein tea in a school uniform laid out by Ghislaine Maxwell.

These are the full exchanges between prosecutor Lara Pomerantz (P) and Kate (K), who is now in her 40s. Kate explained that she once travelled to Epstein's Palm Beach house, at the age of 18.

---

10:24 PM

More on Ghislaine Maxwell trial from across The Telegraph

As today's proceedings draw to a close, catch up on coverage so far of the sex trafficking trial by scrolling down and see the links below.

• Jeffrey Epstein victim asks if ex-staff knew more than they disclosed

• Who are Ghislaine Maxwell’s sisters?

• Maxwell squirms as Epstein's massage table is unfolded at her trial

• Maxwell's 58-page rule book for staff at Jeffrey Epstein's mansion revealed

---

09:50 PM

Maxwell 'animated' in New York courtroom

Josie Ensor and Jamie Johnson report from New York:

Ghislaine Maxwell, in a olive-coloured turtleneck and black facemask, looked as animated as she had done so far a week into the trial, passing handfuls of post-it notes to her attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, in the break before Kate’s cross-examination.

Below are the latest court sketches from today's proceedings.

---

09:02 PM

Maxwell 'told me she was friends with Prince Andrew', accuser says

On the witness stand, Kate recalled Ghislaine Maxwell telling her that she was friends with the Duke of York, whose name has come up on a number of occasions during the trial.

The socialite "seemed to know everybody," Kate told the court. "She told me she was friends with Prince Andrew. Friends with Donald Trump."

Kate told the court she did not tell anyone about her alleged experiences with Ms Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein because she knew how "well connected" they were

The Duke of York has been accused of sexually assaulting Virginia Roberts when she was 17-years-old after she had been trafficked by Epstein. The Duke strenuously denies the claims and is not involved in the New York trial in any way.

Meanwhile, in a new interview with French magazine Madame Figaro, Sarah Ferguson, The Duke's ex-wife said: "I loved him and I still love him today, I will stay by his side, because I believe in him, he is a good man."

She added that following their divorce: "I was maybe the most persecuted woman in the history of the royal family, but I'm still here.

"The bruised reed that doesn't break is in my DNA."

---

09:02 PM

In pictures continued: Ghislaine Maxwell trial day 6

---

08:15 PM

Recap: Eight key moments from the first week of the trial

The Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking trial entered its second week today. To get you up to speed with what we have heard so far, here are eight key moments from the first week of proceedings:

1. In their opening statements, prosecutors called Maxwell a predator who "preyed on vulnerable young girls, manipulated them, and served them up to be sexually abused".

2. Defence attorney Bobbi Sternheim countered that Maxwell was being scapegoated since Epstein is no longer alive. "The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, but she is not Jeffrey Epstein," he said.

3. Lawrence Visoski, Epstein's longtime personal pilot, testified that Prince Andrew and Donald Trump flew on Epstein's plane multiple times.

4. Jane, the first of four Maxwell accusers to take the stand, said the socialite showed her how Epstein liked to be massaged when she was just 14-years-old.

5. Jane also claimed Maxwell participated in their sexual encounters.

6. Juan Alessi, Epstein's housekeeper, said he was given a booklet of detailed instructions, warning him to keep Epstein's and Maxwell's activities or whereabouts secret.

7. The court heard that Jeffrey Epstein had photographs of partially clothed pre-pubescent girls on display at his Palm Beach mansion when it was raided by police in 2005.

8. The massage table on which Jeffrey Epstein is alleged to have sexually abused underage girls was brought into a New York courtoom and unfolded in front of the jury, making Ghislaine Maxwell squirm in her seat.

---

07:45 PM

Here's the latest from the cross-examination of witness 'Kate'

From the New York courthouse, Josie Ensor and Jamie Johnson report.

The anonymous witness Kate told the court in Manhattan how Ghislaine Maxwell once asked her if she knew any other girls for Epstein, as she had “a lot to do” keeping him satisfied. She claimed he needed sex three times a day.

“What if anything did Maxwell say about Epstein’s need for massages?,” Prosecutor Lara Pomerantz asked Kate on the stand. “He needed massages all the time and it was very difficult to keep up,” she responded.

On one occasion when Kate was staying at Epstein’s Palm Beach home, she found what she described as a “schoolgirl outfit” with white socks and white “panties” laid out on her guest room bed. When she asked Ms Maxwell what it was for, Ms Maxwell said, “I thought it would be fun for you to take Jeffrey his tea in this outfit.”

Kate put the costume on, and Ms Maxwell gave her a tray; she found Epstein by the pool. He initiated a sex act with her, she told the jury.

Afterwards, she alleges Ms Maxwell told her: "You're such a good girl, I'm so happy you were able to come."

Ms Pomerantz asked Kate why she had put on the outfit.

“I didn’t know how to say no,” Kate said. “I had never been to Palm Beach or Florida before. I had no idea where the house was. And I wasn’t sure if I said no if I would have to leave, or what the consequence would be for not doing it.”

Kate also spoke about a 10-year period where she abused alcohol, cocaine and sleeping pills which covered the time of the allegations.

The defence questioned whether her history of drug and alcohol abuse affected her memory. "It has not had an impact on the memories I have always had," Kate answered.

---

07:26 PM

In pictures: Ghislaine Maxwell trial day 6

---

07:12 PM

'She seemed to be everything that I wanted to be'

In the witness stand, Kate testified that she met Ghislaine Maxwell in 1994 in Paris through Kate’s older boyfriend - a contemporary of the heiress’s at Oxford University, and found her to be “very sophisticated, very elegant, very impressive.”

She gave Ms Maxwell her phone number, and when they were both back in London a few weeks later, Ms Maxwell called and invited her to tea at her flat.

On the first visit, she says she had a “really lovely time” chatting to Ms Maxwell about her ambitions and dating life.

“She seemed to be everything that I wanted to be,” Kate testified. At the time, Kate was caring for her ailing mother, and she was excited to have “a new friend”.

“I was very excited about being friends with her and she had been friends with the man I had been dating and she seemed to be everything I wanted to be and she seemed to like me so I was excited to go,” said Kate, who wore a black blazer with her blonde hair tied back in a bun. She appeared nervous at times, staring at the ground and taking long pauses to gather herself.

Kate said Ms Maxwell told her about Epstein, saying he was a “philanthropist that liked to help young people” and that he would ”love her”. She later told Kate that Epstein liked “cute, young, pretty girls” like her.

---

06:43 PM

Maxwell 'laid a schoolgirl outfit out'

Ghislaine Maxwell laid a schoolgirl outfit out for a British teenager to wear before Jeffrey Epstein engaged in sex acts with her, because she "thought it would be fun", a court has heard.

The British socialite is accused of leading the alleged victim, who was 17 when she first met Epstein, to a massage room at her London townhouse, and presenting her with massage oils before saying: "Have a good time."

Ms Maxwell, who has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sex trafficking, is accused of preying on vulnerable young girls and luring them to massage rooms to be molested by the financier between 1994 and 2004.

During her testimony on Monday at the Federal court in the Southern District of New York, the alleged victim, now in her mid-40s who used a pseudonym Kate, told jurors the defendant had asked if she knew anybody who could come to her house and give Epstein oral sex because it was "a lot for her to do".

The witness said that when she was 18, she went to Epstein's Palm Beach house in Florida, where the schoolgirl outfit was waiting for her on her bed. Ms Maxwell is alleged to have then told the witness she was "such a good girl" and one of Epstein's favourites. The witness also said Ms Maxwell spoke of Epstein’s insatiable appetite for sex three times a day.

Judge Alison J. Nathan, told the jury Kate was over the age of consent, at 17, in the UK at the time of the Epstein abuse she described, adding: “I instruct you that this witness is not a victim of the crimes charged in the indictment."

---

06:11 PM

'Everything seemed to be like a fun, silly joke'

More from the witness stand in the Manhattan court now where a British woman has been testifying under the pseudonym Kate.

The accuser, in her mid-40s and 17 at the time of the alleged abuse, described one episode during the mid-1990s at Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach, Florida estate where she said Ghislaine Maxwell left out a schoolgirl's outfit with a pleated skirt for her to wear for the financier.

"I thought it would be fun for you to take Jeffrey his tea in this outfit," the witness alleged Ms Maxwell had told her.

After a sexual encounter that followed, the British socialite "asked me if I had fun" and told her, "you are such a good girl," she said.

Ms Maxwell, 59, has denied charges she groomed girls as young as 14 for Epstein, who died in jail in 2019. Her lawyers say the government is making her a scapegoat for Epstein's alleged sex crimes.

Kate told the court Ms Maxwell also told her that Epstein was "demanding" when it came to sexual massages, saying it was "very difficult to keep up" with his needs, the witness said. After agreeing to give him massages in London, she was later flown on commercial flights to Florida, where she said the interactions continued when she was 18.

Ms Maxwell's demeanor was "almost like a schoolgirl," she said. "Everything was fun. Everything seemed to be like a fun, silly joke."

She said she resisted "disengaging" from Ms Maxwell and Epstein "because I had witnessed how connected they both were and I was fearful," she said.

---

05:12 PM

Epstein 'impressed at how strong' accuser was in massage

Because Kate was over the age of consent in Britain at the time, US District Judge Alison Nathan instructed the jury before her testimony began that any sexual encounters she described were not "illegal sex acts”.

Prosecutors could still use Kate's testimony to corroborate patterns in Epstein's and Ms Maxwell's behaviour that other witnesses describe, including that Ms Maxwell used a means of "grooming" girls for Epstein's abuse. Ms Maxwell denies the charges against her.

Kate said when she returned to the townhouse weeks later, Epstein - Ms Maxwell's boyfriend - was there. Kate said she massaged Epstein's feet at Ms Maxwell's request, and said Epstein was impressed at how strong she was.

Kate said that a few weeks later, Ms Maxwell called her and asked her to come give Epstein a massage at the house. Kate said she went to the house and Ms Maxwell led her to a massage room, where Epstein was present in a bathrobe and that Ms Maxwell closed the door, after which Kate had a sexual encounter with Epstein.

---

05:04 PM

Woman says Maxwell told her she was 'one of Epstein's favourites'

A second accuser to take to the witness stand told the Manhattan federal court Ghislaine Maxwell "told me I was one of his favorites" after one of her encounters with Jeffrey Epstein.

The British accuser, testifying on Monday under the pseudonym Kate, said she was 17 and struggling to make friends after moving from France to the UK when she met Maxwell for tea at her London townhouse in 1994.

She painted a picture of wanting to be friends with Ms Maxwell because she was so impressive. Kate recounted how she was an aspiring musician at the time, and that Ms Maxwell said her boyfriend could help with her career.

Kate, now in her mid-40s, told the court: "I left there feeling exhilarated and like somebody wanted to be my friend.”

Kate said Ms Maxwell gave her a schoolgirl outfit and asked if she had fun after Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused her as a teenager in her London townhouse. She said Ms Maxwell told her she was “such a good girl”.

---

04:26 PM

Who are Ghislaine Maxwell's sisters?

As the socialite’s famous friends avoid the trial, her siblings – particularly her sisters Isabel and Christine – are rallying round

After marrying in 1945, Robert and Elisabeth “Betty” Maxwell had nine children over the next 16 years: Michael, Philip, Ann, Christine, Isabel, Karine, Ian, Kevin and Ghislaine.

• Read Guy Kelly's look into their lives

And here's the update Ghislaine Maxwell's brother gave reporters last week.

---

03:57 PM

What are the charges against Ghislaine Maxwell?

---

03:44 PM

Second accuser testifies

A second woman who has accused Ghislaine Maxwell of grooming her for abuse by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein while she was a teen took the witness stand in the British socialite's sex abuse trial on Monday.

The woman, who is testifying under the pseudonym Kate, is named in a 2021 indictment against Ms Maxwell. The trial, which began last week, is set to last through January.

Judge Alison J. Nathan, told the jury Kate was over the age of consent, at 17, in the UK at the time of the Epstein abuse she described, adding: “I instruct you that this witness is not a victim of the crimes charged in the indictment."

“To the extent you conclude that her testimony is relevant to the issues before you,” the judge added, “you may consider it".

Ms Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sex trafficking and other charges. Her lawyers have said the memories of the four women have been corrupted over the years, and say Ms Maxwell is only being prosecuted because Epstein, her former partner, is no longer alive.

The investor died in 2019 at the age of 66 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting sex trafficking charges.

Last week, jurors heard from a woman known by the pseudonym Jane who testified that Epstein sexually abused her beginning in 1994 while she was 14. Jane said Ms Maxwell sometimes participated in their encounters, which often began as massages before escalating.

---

03:30 PM

In pictures: Maxwell's family attend court during trial last week

Ghislaine Maxwell’s siblings have pleaded for “justice and common humanity” in the British socialite’s detention conditions as the sex trafficking trial enters its second week (see below).

Two of those who wrote to the US Attorney General on Monday were Kevin Maxwell and Isabel Maxwell, brother and sister of Ghislaine Maxwell, who attended the New York courthouse during the first week of the trial.

---

03:07 PM

Maxwell family call for change in detention conditions

Ghislaine Maxwell 's family have written to the US Attorney General requesting that authorities stop using four-point shackles on her hands, waist and feet when moved from a holding cell to the courtroom, and that she receive a food pack and a bar of soap each day.

The family also asked Merrick B Garland that she be allowed to meet with her attorneys for at least 30 minutes before and after each day's proceedings.

The restraints cause bruising, broken skin and other "unnecessary trauma," the family said in a statement. They also complained that she received "minimal sustenance" during the first week of her trial and that she was only allowed to confer with her attorneys in areas likely to be heard by prosecutors.

"Ghislaine's physical welfare and her right to have proper and timely access to her counsel during the trial have been entirely overlooked," the family said. "On behalf of their sister, her brothers and sisters urge Attorney Garland to intervene immediately today to grant the simple, fair and just remedies requested."

Ms Maxwell and her family have repeatedly complained about the conditions under which she has been held for the past 17 months, exceeding 500 days, saying they were damaging her health and preventing her from mounting an adequate defense.

Judge Alison J Nathan has rejected several requests for bail, citing concerns that Ms Maxwell could flee.

Read the full letter below.