By Luc Cohen

(Reuters) – After a lengthy weekend, the jury of British socialite Ghislaine Maxill’s sex abuse case is sitting down to continue deliberations.

Maxwell, 60, is accused of recruiting and grooming https://www.reuters.com/world/us/closing-arguments-ghislaine-maxwells-sex-abuse-trial-kick-off-2021-12-20 four teenage girls for the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, her ex-boyfriend and employer, between 1994 and 2004. She pleaded no guilty to six charges of sextrafficking and other offenses. Epstein was awaiting his trial for sex abuse allegations and committed suicide while in Manhattan prison.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan dismissed jurors on Wednesday for the Christmas holiday weekend, and cautioned them to “stay safe https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ghislaine-maxwell-sex-abuse-trial-jury-new-york-resume-deliberations-2021-12-22” amid the surge in the Omicron variant.

Maxwell’s is the third most prominent case to be brought up in light of #MeToo, which encourages women to voice their concerns about the sexual abuse they are subject to by powerful and well-known people.

Maxwell, who turned 60-years-old on Saturday, is detained at Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ghislaine-maxwell-sex-crimes-trial-highlights-conditions-brooklyn-jail-2021-11-18, where she has said her cell has been plagued by vermin and the scent of raw sewage.

After a three week trial, deliberations started late Monday afternoon.

Manhattan Federal Court jury demanded transcripts last week from the four victims of Epstein’s sexual abuse. That suggests they are scrutinizing their accounts carefully https://www.reuters.com/world/us/what-is-known-so-far-about-deliberations-ghislaine-maxwells-sex-abuse-trial-2021-12-22, after Maxwell’s lawyers focused their defense on challenging the accusers’ credibility.

The requests are not intended to indicate the jurors’ opinions regarding Maxwell’s guilt or innocence.

They asked for the review of testimony from three women, Jane, Carolyn and Annie Farmer, on Tuesday. Maxwell’s attorneys had aggressively questioned Maxwell’s women about the reasons their stories seemed to have changed over time.

On Wednesday, jurors were asked to review transcripts of accounts from fourth accuser. She was a woman, who gave evidence under pseudonym Kate. Juan Alessi is the ex-house manager of Epstein’s Palm Beach estate, Florida. He claimed that he met Jane at this property.