Trial of alleged sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell to begin today

The trial of alleged sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell is to begin today in New York.

The 59 year old is on trial for accused sexual offences, including conspiring to entice girls as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein from 1994 to 1997 at his homes in New York, Florida, New Mexico, and her home in London.

Maxwell, the daughter of late media mogul Robert Maxwell and former girlfriend of Epstein, who has been in jail in the US since her arrest in July 2020, denies the offences and is expected to challenge the allegations by claiming the alleged victims may have "false or distorted memories".

Jeffrey Epstein died by apparent suicide in a Brooklyn jail in 2019 as he was held on charges of sex trafficking minors in Florida and New York.

Epstein had already been arrested in 2005, accused of hiring multiple underage girls to perform sex acts. He pleaded guilty to a charge of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and served 13 months in jail.

The charge against the former British socialite Maxwell is based on accusations from four women who say she recruited them to give Epstein massages that progressed into sexual abuse. Prosecutors allege that Maxwell sometimes participated in the sexual encounters and was involved in paying at least on accuser.

Maxwell is also accused of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, sex trafficking of a minor, and with lying under oath by hiding her participation in Epstein's offences during a separate civil case.

Opening statements are due to begin today with the trial expected to last for six weeks.