By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters – The British socialite GhislaineMaxwell’s sex assault trial is set to resume on Wednesday after reviewing evidence from two women that she claimed had been set up by her as teens for sexual encounters.

The jury heard four emotional accounts and specific statements from Maxwell during the New York three-week trial. These were given by Epstein’s former boyfriend, and now employer. Maxwell, who was 66 years old, died while in jail in New York in 2019. She was awaiting her trial on sexual abuse charges.

Maxwell’s lawyers tried to subvert their credibility by aggressively questioning them over why they believed their stories had changed through the years.

After closing arguments, deliberations began on Monday evening.

Maxwell, who is 59 years old, was accused of grooming and recruiting teenage girls for Epstein in 1994 and 2004. Six counts of sextrafficking were pleaded guilty by Maxwell. Her perjury case will be heard separately.

Maxwell’s trial is one of many high-profile cases that have been brought to light in the aftermath of #MeToo, which encouraged women worldwide to voice their concerns about the sexual abuse they suffered by powerful and well-known people.

Jurors demanded the transcripts from the testimony of three women testifying on Tuesday. Later, they wanted to know more about Carolyn. She claimed that she was 14 when Epstein attacked her. Maxwell had also touched her naked body as she was getting ready to give Epstein an intimate massage.

Maxwell’s sex traficking case, which is the most serious among the six, stems from Carolyn’s. Maxwell can be sentenced up to 40years.

Jeffrey Pagliuca, Maxwell’s lawyer, pressed Carolyn about why Maxwell was not mentioned in an interview she had with the FBI in 2007 or in a suit she brought against Epstein in 2009.

Maxwell’s defense also claimed that the prosecutors made Maxwell scapegoat because Epstein has since died.