Ghislaine Maxwell Trial: "Jane" Testifies

"I was frozen in fear": "Jane" Says She Was 14 When Epstein and Maxwell Sexually Assaulted Her

Today, the focus of the United States vs. Ghislaine Maxwell wasn’t on name-dropping, palatial residences, the jet-setting or the money trail.

Today’s testimony stripped away the “noise” of the investigation and focused on the story of one victim: Jane.

Jane testified about the years of horrific sexual abuse that she suffered, beginning when she was just 14 years old.

“Jane”, testified that in 1994 she was at the Interlochen Performing Arts Camp in Michigan, eating ice cream with her friends, when Maxwell passed by with her dog, “a cute little Yorkie”.

After a little while, Epstein showed up and joined the conversation.

When Jane said that she lived in Palm Beach, where Epstein had a home, he asked for her number.

Later, she said, he invited her - and her mother - to have tea at his house and sent a driver to pick them up.

He told them that he was a mentor who took a special interest in young artists and wanted to help support them.

Jane, who was in the eighth grade at the time, said that her family was struggling. Her father had recently passed away, and she was grieving.

Epstein seemed interested in her, she said, and in her hopes and dreams.

From that point on, Jane visited Epstein’s home alone. At first, she said that Maxwell was nice to her, and said that she acted like an older sister toward her (at the time, Jane had an older sister who was 27 years old).

She and Epstein told Jane, a gifted singer, that they could help make her dreams come true, and help her get scholarships.

Epstein and Jane watched movies and hung out by the pool.

Maxwell took her shopping for sweaters and for “white cotton briefs” at Victoria’s Secret.

But eventually, the visits took a sexual turn. Maxwell, she said, would talk to her about sex - and there were often women lounging topless by the pool, which Jane said that she was shocked by - at least, at first.

She talked about the first time that Epstein sexually abused her in the pool house of his Palm Beach estate.

They were talking in his office when he took her hand and led her to the pool house. She said: “I was frozen in fear. I had never seen a penis let alone something like this... I didn’t tell anyone. I was terrified and felt gross and ashamed.”

Later she described this event as “the beginning of when my life would change forever.”

Jane said he led her to a couch, pulled her down on top of him and “proceeded to masturbate”.

Afterwards, she said, Epstein cleaned up and acted like nothing had happened.

Jane clearly said that Maxwell also participated in the abuse. She said that Maxwell touched her breasts when she was showing her how to massage Epstein.

Again, she said that Epstein and Maxwell acted “casual” and like the abuse was “no big deal” during these encounters.

She said that Maxwell had been in the room while Epstein abused her “more than twice” but was not sure how many times exactly this occurred.

She said Epstein subjected her to “painful” abuse with sex toys, and that she was forced into performing oral sex and participating in orgies.

Jane talked about some of the other women who were participants, including one named Sophie who Jane said was “tall and thin” with “nice legs” and a “tan”.

On cross examination, Jane was asked by Laura Menninger about what the defense said were changes in her story between 2019 and now. Menninger was clearly trying to make the point that Jane’s testimony was motivated by money - but in the end, her strategy seemed to backfire.

Jane said that she is married, has children and works as an actress on a successful soap opera. Still, to this day she said that she fears people judging her because of the abuse that she suffered. She said: “If someone looks at me and that’s all they see, I’m afraid they wouldn’t hire me because of it.”

Jane said that Epstein introduced her to some of his celebrity friends - including former President Donald Trump during the 1990s, when she was 14, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

She also said that she remembered being on a flight on Epstein’s private jet with Prince Andrew. (Jane did not accuse any of Epstein’s guests of any wrongdoing).

At one point, Menninger asked Jane why she had waited until after Epstein died to reveal Maxwell’s role in the abuse.

Jane said: “They did despicable things to me, and I didn’t want to talk about them.”

For example, when talking to the government in 2019, Menninger stated that Jane told the government that Maxwell had walked by with her dog - and not mentioned Epstein.

Jane suggested that the FBI’s notes may have been incorrect.

“Maybe they typed it up wrong,” she said.

Menninger also referred to another incident - when Jane testified that Epstein and Maxwell took her upstairs and Maxwell was present during a sexual assault.

Menninger said that in 2019, Jane reportedly said she could not remember the first time she saw Maxwell naked.

Jane stuck to her story, and every time that she was asked about an apparent inconsistency replied: “I don’t recall.”

Menninger kept mentioning the fact that Jane is an actress and has appeared on a reality TV show.

Menninger kept referring to Jane’s appearance on reality TV.

“Acting on television is not real, and testifying in court is real — is the truth,” Jane said.

Jane said she had received a settlement of $5 million from Epstein’s estate - which ended up being $2.9 million after legal fees. Under cross-examination, she stressed she was not testifying for financial gain.

SIDE NOTE: I’ve never really understood this argument from the prosecution - the women who received compensation from the fund have ALREADY gotten their payouts. So, when they could move on with their lives with the money already in the bank, why would they risk making their names public if this wasn’t true?)

Later, one of Jane’s ex-boyfriends, who testified under the pseudonym of “Matt,” said Jane was a working actress who told him that she had someone she described as a “godfather” and “family friend” who helped the family with bills - and that there was an adult female who “made her feel comfortable” with Epstein.

When Matt asked what she had to do to get the money, he said Jane replied “Matt, the money wasn’t fucking free.”

Jane started crying when she was asked what the money meant to her.

“I wish I never received that money in the first place because of what happened,” she said.