A former office worker for Jeffrey Epstein testifies as the first defence witness at the sex abuse trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, telling jurors she did not witness misconduct by the British socialite while working closely with her for six years.
A former office worker for Jeffrey Epstein has testified as the first defence witness at the sex abuse trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, telling jurors she did not witness misconduct by the British socialite while working closely with her for six years.The defence's case could last just two days"Never," Cimberly Espinosa, 55, responded when asked if she ever saw Maxwell or Epstein "engaged in any misbehaviour".
Ms Espinosa also testified about seeing a key accuser in the case — who testified for the government as "Jane" to protect her privacy — visiting Epstein's New York City office on Madison Avenue "a few times" in the late 1990s.Because of that, "she was treated with utmost respect", Ms Espinosa said.Maxwell's former assistant said the witness known as Jane "was treated with utmost respect".
Ms Espinosa told the jury she assisted Maxwell in managing Epstein's multiple high-end properties between 1996 and 2002.When defence attorney Christian Everdell finished his questioning, assistant US attorney Lara Pomerantz tried to convince jurors that Ms Espinosa was an irrelevant witness by asking her only whether she had ever worked at any of Epstein's homes.
Both sides streamlined their witness lists without revealing why, bringing the trial's end date well short of the original six-week estimate.Elizabeth Loftus, a psychology professor at the University of California, Irvine, was also called by the defence on Thursday."Even traumatic experiences can be subjected to post-event suggestion," Dr Loftus said.
"False memories ... can be very vivid, detailed. People can be confident about them, people can be emotional about them, even though they're false."