By Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld

NEW YORK (Reuters), – The second day of Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal sex assault trial began on Tuesday. On Tuesday, prosecutors were expected to question Jeffrey Epstein, a former pilot.

Maxwell was accused of grooming and recruiting underage girls for Epstein erotic masseuses. The prosecutor termed the “ruse” to sex abuse in Maxwell’s Monday opening statement. Maxwell’s defence attorney said Maxwell is making a scapegoat for the crimes committed by Epstein.

Epstein was in custody in 2019, while waiting for his trial on charges of sex abuse.

Maxwell, who is 59 years old, has pleaded no guilty to eight counts related to sex trafficking. Maxwell will also be facing two perjury charges. If convicted of all charges, Maxwell could spend up to 80 years prison.

On Monday, Lawrence Visoski (the pilot) testified that Maxwell used to contact him for flights. Visoski said Maxwell was an assistant in Epstein’s office who flew frequently on Epstein’s private planes. However, he also stated that their relationship seemed to be more personal than professional.

Visoski spoke of Maxwell as saying, “We interacted quite frequently,”

On Tuesday, the prosecutor will resume questioning Maxwell. After that, Maxwell’s defense counsel will cross-examine Maxwell.

The testimony of Visoski gives jurors a picture of Epstein’s lifestyle between 1994 and 2004 when Maxwell is accused in luring four teenage girls to Epstein. Visoski stated that he often shuttled Epstein, guests, and his property in New York to Paris, New Mexico and New Mexico.

Lara Pomerantz Assistant U.S.A. stated in Monday’s opening statement that the prosecution would present flight logs including Maxwell’s name and the names of some of the victims.

Pomerantz claimed that Epstein and defendant Epstein encouraged young girls to believe they could achieve their dreams. They were exploiting children. They trafficked children for sex.

Bobbi Sternheim (Maxwell’s defense lawyer) said Monday that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with private jets. Sternheim reminded jurors about the time they indicated to Alison Nathan, U.S. District Judge, that they were not biased by wealth or opulence during jury selection.

Epstein said that Epstein used his private aircrafts as “commuter jets”. Sternheim claimed that Epstein’s private planes “were used as commuter jets” and had a number of friends including past, current, and future girlfriends. Sternheim added, “Guy friends”, and a host of very interesting people such as academics, politicians and scientists. Sternheim said, “There were both families and children on board the flight.”