“Crime Stories” host Nancy Grace said she expects jurors will reach a verdict in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking trial within the next two days, as she does not expect them to deliberate on Christmas Eve.
Grace told “Fox & Friends” that jurors requesting a transcript of two of the accusers’ testimony suggest they are leaning towards convicting Maxwell, 59. Grace, a former prosecutor, went on to say she disagreed with the theory that longer deliberations mean an acquittal is imminent.
“I believe that they’re going methodically through the counts, and methodically through the victims,” the Fox Nation host said.
However, Grace also said it was a “bad sign” for the prosecution that jurors asked to review FBI interview notes from 2007 — as one of the victims did not mention Maxwell at the time.
“It’s going be very difficult to pretend that all of these victims, separated in time and space, made up the same story,” said Grace, who disputed the defense’s claims that the accusers misremembered their interactions with Maxwell, or they were influenced by money.
Maxwell did not take the stand in her own defense, but three accusers testified using pseudonyms — including one who said she was 14 when Maxwell groomed her to sexually pleasure Jeffrey Epstein, 66, and trafficked her to other men.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe alleged Maxwell and Epstein shared a “little black book” which contained phone numbers of young girls available for massages. Maxwell’s accusers claimed she forced them to massage or have sex with Epstein, and that Maxwell would also grope them.
Maxwell, who was arrested in July 2020 in New Hampshire, is accused of grooming at least four underage girls, as young as 14, for Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 1997. She has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and other related charges in New York.
Epstein was jailed without bond in July 2019 following allegations that he sex-trafficked dozens of underage girls from 2002 to 2005. The billionaire financier was found hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan on August 10, 2019 — sparking skepticism about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Closing statements occurred on Monday. The jury continued their deliberations on Wednesday.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
[Featured image: Fox News Video Screengrab
