Between 1994 and 2004, a New York jury began deliberating the fate of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite accused of recruiting and grooming young girls to be abused by late millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
Both the prosecution and defense gave closing comments, and the jury was sent out to deliberate shortly before 5 p.m. local time (2200 GMT/UTC).
The jury's 12 members deliberated for less than an hour on Monday but will reconvene at 9 a.m. on Tuesday to continue the process.
Maxwell is the 59-year-old daughter of Robert Maxwell, a famous media mogul who died in 1991 after falling off his yacht.
What occurs next?
Judge Alison Nathan instructed the jury to reach unanimous verdicts on all of the charges against Maxwell. If they cannot reach an agreement, the judge may declare a mistrial. It is unknown how long the jury will take to deliberate.
Maxwell's trial was initially scheduled to conclude in January, but she now faces the potential of learning her fate before her 60th birthday on December 25.
If the jury remains deadlocked after Wednesday's hearing, they will reconvene on Monday, December 27.
Maxwell faces an effective life sentence if convicted of all charges.
Conclusions
Assistant US Attorney Alison Moe concluded the three-week trial by stating that Epstein could not have preyed on underage females for more than a decade without the assistance of Maxwell.
According to the prosecutor, Maxwell was the "lady of the house" while Epstein assaulted girls at a mansion in New York, a Florida estate, and a ranch in New Mexico.
"Ghislaine Maxwell was dangerous," Moe told jurors, noting that Maxwell collected more than $30 million (€26.6 million at today's exchange rates) from Epstein.
Moe described Maxwell as a "sophisticated predator who was well-informed about her prey." She repeated the same playbook."
"She exploited and groomed her victims. She harmed young girls profoundly and permanently. It is past time for her to be held accountable," Moe stated.
Laura Menninger, the defense attorney, stated that prosecutors had failed to prove any allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, which was also Maxwell's rationale for not testifying.
"Ghislaine Maxwell is an innocent woman, wrongfully accused of crimes she did not commit," Menninger stated.
Menninger concluded by stating that Maxwell was made a scapegoat following Epstein's suicide in an August 2019 Manhattan jail cell while awaiting a sex-trafficking prosecution.
Menninger stated, "Ghislaine Maxwell is not Jeffrey Epstein,"
Maxwell's defense team also attempted to depict her four accusers as untrustworthy and motivated by the promise of a reward from a settlement fund for Epstein's victims throughout the trial.
Maxwell was denied bail following his arrest in July of last year and has spent the entirety of the process in jail.
