Ghislaine Maxwell loses bid to ban depositions from jail

The British socialite’s lawyers claim statements she made in prior depositions were done so under the understanding they would be confidential

Accused sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has had her request to block prosecutors from using interviews she gave during her November sex trafficking trial in her upcoming criminal trial rejected by a US district judge.

According to The Associated Press, Judge Alison J Nathan denied her lawyers' request to keep the interviews out of her upcoming trial in which she has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging she recruited four teenage girls between 1994 and 2004 for Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse.

The judge ruled that Ms Maxwell's lawyers will have time to recommend redactions in the interviews that they feel may be necessary to protect their client.

Ms Maxwell has been jailed since her arrest last July, and has filed several attempts to pay a bond for release which have all been denied.

Judge Nathan has ruled in each case that Ms Maxwell would pose a flight risk if she was allowed to post bail.

Her lawyers claim that she has been subjected to "raw sewage, water deprivation, and hyper-surveillance" while in jail.

She is in a special confinement section of the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn to ensure her safety until her trial.

Epstein was incarcerated in the same facility and was found dead after an apparent suicide in 2019.

The British socialite was Epstein's girlfriend and is accused of luring girls into his employ, who were then sexually abused by the financier.

Her lawyers filed the request to block the interviews in an attempt to dismiss two perjury counts stemming from her answers to questions during depositions in 2016 regarding Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.

She was charged with perjury for saying "I don't know what you're talking about" when asked if Epstein had a "scheme to recruit underage girls for sexual massages”.

In another instance, she was charged for saying she did not remember if she was aware of the presence of sex toys at Epstein's home in Palm Beach, Florida, and for saying she did not know if Epstein had engaged in sexual activities with anyone other than herself.

Redacted version of Ms Maxwell's depositions were released to the public by the Miami Herald.

Ms Maxwell's lawyers claim that she answered the questions under the understanding that a court-approved agreement would keep the evidence within confidential.

An upcoming British documentary Ghislaine Maxwell: Epstein's Shadow reveals through court documents that Ms Maxwell was using her influence as a British socialite to build Epstein's network of powerful associates since the 1980s.

Ms Maxwell's trial has been scheduled to begin on 29 November.