Maxwell ‘gave schoolgirl outfit to British teenager before Epstein sex acts’

The alleged victim told the court she met Epstein and Maxwell at the age of 17.

Ghislaine Maxwell laid a schoolgirl outfit out for a British teenager to wear before Jeffrey Epstein engaged in sex acts with her, because she “thought it would be fun”, a court heard.

The British socialite is accused of leading the alleged victim, who was 17 when she first met Epstein, to a massage room at her London townhouse, and presenting her with massage oils before saying: “Have a good time.”

Maxwell is accused of preying on vulnerable young girls and luring them to massage rooms to be molested by Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

During her testimony on Monday at the Federal court in the Southern District of New York the alleged victim, referred to only as Kate, told jurors the defendant had asked if she knew anybody who could come to her house and give Epstein oral sex because it was “a lot for her to do”.

The witness said that when she was 18, she went to Epstein’s Palm Beach house in Florida where the schoolgirl outfit was waiting for her on her bed.

Maxwell is alleged to have then told the witness she was “such a good girl” and one of Epstein’s favourites.

Kate told the court she did not tell anyone about her experiences with them because she knew how “well connected” they were, and told the court how Maxwell had said she was friends with the Duke of York and Donald Trump.

Speaking about how she met Maxwell, Kate said her then boyfriend was friends with her and they met one evening in Paris.

Assistant United States attorney Lara Pomerantz asked the witness: “What did you speak about?”

“We spoke about the evening – we were heading out for the evening and we spoke about where I lived, we spoke about the man I was dating, she was asking me things about myself.”

“Did you stay in touch?”

“I gave her my phone number on a piece of paper and she called me.”

“When was the next time you saw Maxwell?”

“A few weeks later.”

“How did that meeting come about?”

“She called me and invited me to go for tea at her house.”

“Why did you go to her house?”

“I was very excited about being friends with her and she had been friends with the man I had been dating, and she seemed to be everything I wanted to be and she seemed to like me, so I was excited to go.”

Kate said there were a number of photos of Maxwell and Epstein at her London townhouse when she visited.

“What happened when you went to her townhouse?”

“I had a really lovely time, I felt really special and I felt that I had a friend, a new connection that could be really meaningful to me.”

Speaking about conversations she had with Maxwell about her family, Kate said: “I told her that things were quite difficult.

“(I told her) I lived at home with my mother and she would get very bad migraines and I would often take care of her and give her massages.”

Kate continued: “She told me lots of amazing things about her boyfriend and said he was a philanthropist and liked to help young people, and said at some point it would be wonderful for me to get to meet him.

“She said he was going to love me and I was exactly the kind of person he would help.”

“Did there come a time when you met Epstein?”

“Yes, a few weeks later.”

“Where did you meet Epstein?”

“At Ghislaine’s house.

“Ghislaine called me… (she said) he was in town and she would really love it if I could come over to meet him.

“There was a sense of urgency that I come over and take this opportunity.”

“What if anything did Maxwell say to Epstein about you during that visit?”

“She said this is the girl I told you about and she listed some of my accolades.”

“What happened next?”

“After, she said that I was very strong and ‘why don’t you give his feet a little squeeze to show how strong you are’.”

“Did you give his feet a squeeze?”

“Yes, I massaged them. Then he seemed to be very approving and he said ‘you can go ahead and do my shoulders’.”

“Did you massage his shoulders?”

“Yes. He said that I was very strong and he said that he liked that I seemed to know what I wanted, and they talked about something I couldn’t really hear, but something about a music producer and then his phone rang.”

Kate said Maxwell called her again a couple of weeks after her first visit.

She told the jury: “She said that Epstein was meant to get a massage but the massage therapist had cancelled and she said can I come over and do her a favour and do it, because I had such strong hands.”

“Did you go to Maxwell’s house?”

“Yes.”

“What if anything did she say when you arrived?”

“She said ‘thank you so much for coming, I’m really excited that you are here’.”

“What if anything did Maxwell say about Epstein’s need for massages?”

“He needed massages all the time and it was very difficult to keep up.”

Continuing to talk about what happened on her second visit, Kate said: “She led me up the stairs and led me to a room with a massage table in.

“It was dimly lit, there was a massage table and some towels and Jeffrey was in the room.”

Kate said Epstein was wearing a robe and when he took it off, he was naked.

The witness continued, to say Maxwell gave her some massage oil and closed the door.

Ms Pomerantz then asked: “Did you give Epstein a massage?”

“Yes.”

“Did Epstein initiate sexual contact with you?”

“Yes.”

“Without going into details, did Epstein engage in a sex act with you?”

“Yes.”

“After it ended where did you go?”

“I left the room and started walking down the stairs.”

“What did Maxwell say?”

“She said ‘how did it go? Did you have fun? Was it good?’

“She seemed very excited and happy and she thanked me again.”

Kate said she saw Epstein again at Maxwell’s house a few days later, after the defendant called her again.

“When you arrived what did she say?”

“She said I’m so glad you’re here, you did such a good job last time he wanted you to come back.”

Kate said she was then led upstairs to the same room.

“Who, if anyone, did you see when she opened the door?”

“Jeffrey. He was naked.”

Kate said that before closing the door, Maxwell said: “Have a good time.”

The witness said Epstein again engaged in a sex act with her.

Asked what Maxwell said after the second incident, Kate said: “She said ‘did you have fun? You’re such a good girl, I’m so happy you were able to come, he obviously like you a lot’.”

The witness told jurors she saw them “multiple times” over the next few years.

Ms Pomerantz then asked: “When you saw Maxwell in person, what sexual topics did she bring up?”

“She would talk a lot about boys and their willies and how demanding Jeffrey was, and she would ask me if I knew anybody who could come and give Jeffrey a blowjob because it was a lot for her to do.

“She said I know what he likes, ‘cute, young and pretty like you’.”

“About how often did these sexual topics come up?”

“All the time.”

“What, if anything, did Maxwell say about how often Epstein needed to have sex?”

“She said he needed to have sex about three times a day.”

“What was Maxwell’s demeanour when she talked to you about sexual topics?”

“It was almost like a schoolgirl. She was talking like she was younger than me, which was odd, and everything was fun and everything was silly and everything was very exciting.”

Asked what sexual topics Maxwell would bring up, Kate said: “She asked me if I liked sex, she asked me if I was dating anybody.”

Ms Pomerantz then moved on to ask about Maxwell’s social circle.

Kate said: “She seemed to know everybody and told me that she was friends with Prince Andrew, friends with Donald Trump and friends with lots of famous people.”

The witness was then asked how often Epstein initiated sexual activity when she spent time with him.

“Every time.”

“When he initiated sexual activity with you, was it always in the context of massage?”

“No.”

Kate then told the court she received a small black Prada handbag for her 18th birthday, with a note which said “from Ghislaine and Jeffrey”.

The witness then explained that she once travelled to Epstein’s Palm Beach house, at the age of 18.

She said: “There were lots of photos of young girls.”

“What do you remember about them?”

“I remember that they were shocking.”

“Were they clothed or unclothed?”

“Unclothed. They were in almost every room.”

“Did there come a time when you were given clothing to wear at the Palm Beach house?”

“Yes. I was given a schoolgirl outfit. It was short pleated skirt, white socks, white panties and a shirt.”

“Where did you find the schoolgirl outfit?”

“On my bed.”

Kate said she went downstairs to find Maxwell and asked “what was happening with the clothes in my room?”

The witness continued: “She said ‘I thought it would be fun for you to take Jeffrey his tea in the outfit’.”

“Why did you put it on?”

“I didn’t know how to say no. I didn’t know what kind of consequence there would be for not wearing it.

“Ghislaine gave me a tray and told me to go and walk to where Jeffrey was and bring him the tray.

“He was next to the pool house and he was working out. He was with some kind of trainer.”

“After the trainer left, did Jeffrey initiate sexual contact with you?”

“Yes.”

“Did Epstein engage in a sex act with you?”

“Yes.”

“What if anything did Maxwell say to you later that day?”

“She asked me if I had fun and told me that I was a such a good girl and that I was one of his favourites, and that’s it.”

“Did Epstein engage in sexual activity again on that trip?”

“Yes. Multiple times.”

Kate told the court she also travelled to Epstein’s private island at the age of about 23.

“(Maxwell) asked me to massage Jeffrey,” she said.

“Did sexualised massages with Jeffrey take place on the island?”

“Yes.”

“Do you recall seeing anyone other than Epstein and Maxwell?”

“I remember seeing a blonde slim girl who seemed younger than me, very young.”

The alleged victim said she became addicted to alcohol, cocaine and sleeping pills during the time she was in contact with Maxwell and Epstein.

She said: “When I first started using substances it helped me to cope with the way I was feeling.

“Then the substance abuse got out of control and started to destroy my relationships, my health and my peace of mind.”

Asked why she did not tell anyone about her encounters with Maxwell and Epstein, Kate said: “I didn’t want to admit what had happened to me and I felt that by ceasing communication I would have to acknowledge what had happened to me.

“I was fearful of disengaging because I knew how connected they both were.”

Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. The death was ruled a suicide.

Maxwell, who has been held in a US jail since her arrest in July last year, denies all charges.

The trial continues.