By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters), – On Friday, Ghislaine Maxill’s defense lawyers will attempt to convince jurors that Maxwell’s four accusers’ accounts in her sex abuse trial against the British socialite are false.

The lawyers for her indicated that they would rest their case by Friday afternoon or Monday morning. This opens the door to closing arguments next week at the trial of Jeffrey Epstein’s former associate.

This trial began Nov. 29 and is progressing at a much faster rate than originally anticipated.

Maxwell, who is 59 years old, was accused of recruiting teenager girls to sexual encounters. Although she has pleaded no guilty to the charges, her lawyers argue that Maxwell was being used by prosecutors to stand in for Epstein. Epstein died in suicide prison in 2019, while she waited to be tried on sexual abuse allegations.

The prosecution presented four women as witnesses who placed Maxwell in the middle of their relationship with Epstein. They said Maxwell groomed them by touching their breasts and discussing unsuitable sexual topics when they were teenagers.

The defense must undermine the women’s credibility. Maxwell’s attorneys argued that women have lost their memories over the years and are being motivated by Maxwell to indict them.

The defense plans to call Kate’s male associate, which is a pseudonym used for one accuser. Bobbi Sternheim (Maxwell’s lawyer) said that they wanted to ask him questions about the statements Kate made that showed “motive, bias, and prejudice.”

Robert Glassman (an attorney representing Jane) will testify before jurors about his statements to Jane. Glassman said that he believed Jane would be more successful if he cooperated with the prosecutors.

Jurors were treated to testimony by Elizabeth Loftus on Thursday. Loftus is a psychologist that studies the effects of information people receive after an event.

An ex-Maxwell executive assistant testified earlier in the day that she had never witnessed her boss make inappropriate contact with minor girls.