Foot rubs and passionate kisses on yachts and private jets: Ghislaine Maxwell trial shown intimate Epstein photo album
The 19 photos of Epstein and Ms Maxwell were located in hard drives at his Manhattan townhouse during an FBI raid in 2019
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Prosecutors in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial have released intimate never-before-seen photos of the socialite that lay bare her close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The photos show the pair kissing and embracing, on yachts and private jets and at black tie events, as well as several of Ms Maxwell giving Epstein a foot massage.
On Tuesday, FBI analyst Kimberly Meder testified the photos were found on CDs taken during a raid of Epstein’s Manhattan mansion in 2019.
The relationship between Epstein and Ms Maxwell has been a key question as the trial has unfolded.
Prosecutors describe them as being in a relationship at one point, before forming a close friendship that involved Ms Maxwell acting as a groomer and enabler for Epstein’s abuse of young girls.
They were “partners in crime”, the prosecutors said, with Ms Maxwell acting as the “purportedly respectable older woman” who would make young girls feel safe, before luring them into Epstein’s orbit and “serving them up” to be abused.
Former staff say their relationship appeared to be more of a professional nature, with Ms Maxwell running his properties and acting as the “lady of the house”.
Pilot Larry Visoski testified they were in a relationship at one point, but later couldn’t ever recall seeing them being affectionate to one another.
The accuser, known as Kate, recalled visiting Ms Maxwell’s home in Balgravia, London, and seeing photos of them all over the walls. She said Ms Maxwell appeared to always be looking at Epstein, while his gaze was firmly at the camera.
She said Ms Maxwell referred to Epstein as her boyfriend, and a “philanthropist” who liked to help young people.
The first accuser, who testified under the pseudonym Jane, said when she first met Epstein and Ms Maxwell she thought they were a couple.
In her opening argument for the defence, Bobbi Sternheim told jurors Epstein had compartmentalised his life and would only show what he wanted to the people around him, “including Ghislaine”.
Epstein kept photographs of Ms Maxwell on display at his Palm Beach home.
On the seventh day of Ms Maxwell’s trial, FBI computer analyst Stephen Flatley testified about hard drives recovered from Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.
He said he made clones of devices seized from the property during a raid in July 2019. He located a Microsoft Word document created in 2002 by a user “G Max”.
It stated: “Jeffrey and Ghislaine have been together, a couple, for the last 11 years. They are, contrary to what people think, rarely apart. I always see them together.
“Ghislaine is highly intelligent and great company with a ready smile and an infectious laugh.”
The letter went on to say: “Jeffrey and Ghislaine compliment each other really well and I cannot imagine one without the other. On top of being great partners, they are also the best of friends.”
Ms Maxwell, 59, is accused of grooming four underage girls between 1994 and 2004 and flying them to Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion. Some of the abuses are also alleged to have occurred at his Manhattan townhouse, a ranch in New Mexico, an apartment in Paris, and on his estate in the Virgin Islands.
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Epstein was arrested in July 2019 and died by suicide in prison a month later while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.