Maxwell’s jury reopens talks after judge warns of Omicron danger Reuters

Author: Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – British Socialist Ghislaine Maxwell’s sexual abuse trial jury resumed proceedings on Wednesday after the trial judge warned that Omicron COVID-19 was rapidly spreading and that there was a growing risk of trial.

After a full four-day debate, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan said Tuesday that a positive COVID-19 case among jurors “would jeopardize our ability to end this trial.”

Maxwelli, 60, is accused of hiring and decorating four teenage girls to have sex with former financier Jeffrey Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

On Wednesday morning, the jury asked Nathan for transcripts of the testimony of five witnesses. There was Shawn, the first name of Carolyn’s ex-boyfriend, one of Maxwell’s four accusers. Shawn testified about driving to Carolyn Epstein’s farm in Palm Beach, Florida when she was a teenager.

Jurors have also asked Nathan to clarify whether they will deliberate on Friday and Saturday this New Year’s holiday this week.

Nathan told the jury on Tuesday that they plan to meet daily until the verdict is reached. In the absence of a jury, Nathan also proposed to prosecutors and defense attorneys the idea of ​​discussions over the weekends, if necessary.

Initially, the jury was scheduled to rest on Thursday and Friday due to the holiday.

“We’re in a very, very different place when it comes to the pandemic,” Nathan said, referring to the “astronomical tip” of the COVID-19 cases in New York City because of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Epstein, who counted top business executives and politicians among his peers, committed suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 at the age of 66 while awaiting trial for sexual abuse.

Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to six counts of sex trafficking and other offenses. His lawyers have argued that he is suffering from Epstein’s behavior because he is not alive.