Jury in Ghislaine Maxwell case sent home for Christmas

It is understood jurors will return on Monday to continue their deliberations.

Ghislaine Maxwell (PA) (PA Archive)

The jury deliberating the fate of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been sent home for the Christmas holidays.

Jurors ended their second full day of deliberations into the sex trafficking trial on Wednesday by requesting more transcripts of testimonies from the trial.

The PA news agency understands that rather than continuing its deliberations on Thursday, the jury will return after the Christmas holiday on December 27.

It means Maxwell, who was born on December 25, will spend her 60th birthday in prison.

US District Judge Alison J Nathan told jurors to keep themselves safe and healthy over the Christmas break as New York is facing a rise in coronavirus infections.

She added that strict coronavirus protocols will be in place, such as wearing hospital-grade masks, for when they reconvene on Monday.

Maxwell, who was labelled “dangerous” and a “predator” by the prosecution, is accused of luring vulnerable young girls to massage rooms to be molested by Jeffrey Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

The defence told the Southern District of New York court that she is being prosecuted as a scapegoat as a result of the sex trafficking charges against Epstein being dissolved following his death.

The 66-year-old was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex-trafficking charges.

His death was ruled a suicide.

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