By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – British socialite Ghislaine Maxill’s defence in her sex abuse case will be focused on discrediting her accusers as well as removing her from Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein is the financier she was accused of recruiting underage girls. Legal experts and court filings indicate that this defense will center around Maxwell undermining her accusers.

Maxwell’s attorneys will challenge the credibility of the four women Maxwell claims she used to groom them from the time they were teenagers. They argue that either their memories are flawed or that the financial incentives led to them lying. In a court filing, they stated that the one woman motivated them by a desire for money.

Epstein committed suicide in Manhattan in 2019, while waiting for his trial for sex abuse allegations.

“[Maxwell’s lawyers]Laurie Levenson is a Loyola Law School professor in Los Angeles.

Maxwell’s trial is in Manhattan Federal Court. Jury selection has begun. Opening statements are scheduled for Nov. 29.

Maxwell has pleaded innocent to eight charges, which include sex trafficking.

Her attorneys argued that Epstein’s death rendered prosecutors unable to convict him and are trying to substitute Maxwell to make someone accountable.

Her lawyers filed a filing on February 4, stating that Maxwell had been left without any fish to fry.

Maxwell is currently being represented by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Manhattan. Williams has declined comment. Maxwell’s attorneys did not reply to our requests for comment.

Jeffrey Pagliuca was Maxwell’s lawyer and stated at the Nov. 10 hearing, that defense officials would ask the victims of abuse why they have waited so long to speak out.

Maxwell’s defence claims that Maxwell was not accused by Annie Farmer or another woman who is going to testify as a witness under a pseudonym until after Epstein’s abuses.

Farmer did not keep a diary in the 1990s that described Epstein’s interactions. And the witness who wasn’t identified said nothing at all about Maxwell up until June, when the lawyers showed the photograph to her.

PSYCHOLOGIST TESTIMONY

Elizabeth Loftus is a psychologist who examines how memory can be distorted and will provide expert testimony.

Lawyers said there were risks for the defense team because of the #MeToo movement where women accuse powerful men sexual harassment and abuse.

Victim Shaming is not effective, especially in 2021. It usually hurts people,” stated Zachary Margulis Ohnuma, a New York attorney who practices in cases involving sex crime. You must show empathy to victims.

Maxwell’s defence also indicated that Maxwell was being sued by the defense because Maxwell could be liable for a settlement.

Maxwell’s attorneys stated that the victims have all accepted compensation from Epstein’s estate.

Laura Menninger (another Maxwell lawyer) wrote that “the motive for fabrication couldn’t be clearer” in relation to a civil suit Farmer brought against Epstein. Farmer abandoned the case after she requested compensation from victims’ funds.

“Her new asserted abuse memories – which she has not corroborated – don’t reflect the truth of her claims. They are based more on her need for money than a desire to get ‘justice.’

Lawyers for Farmer didn’t respond to our request for comment.

Experts in legal law stated that the prosecution wouldn’t have filed the case if they didn’t believe the women were capable of enduring attacks on credibility.

Deborah Tuerkheimer of Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law, Chicago, stated that she doesn’t believe they pursue her unless there are women who can put her in danger and place her in the middle of it.