In court, Ghislaine Maxwell pleads not guilty to new charges

She made her first court appearance in almost a year to address new sex trafficking charges

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell appears during her arraignment hearing on a new indictment at Manhattan Federal Court in New York City in this courtroom sketch. Reuters

Ghislaine Maxwell faced her trial judge in person for the first time Friday as lawyers squabbled over exactly when she should be tried on sex trafficking charges that allege that she procured teenage girls for Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse at his posh residences.

Ms Maxwell, a British socialite and one-time girlfriend of the financier, pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy and an additional sex trafficking charge that were added in a rewritten indictment released last month by a Manhattan federal court grand jury. The new indictment stretched the timespan of the charges from three years to a decade.

Ms Maxwell appeared before US District Judge Alison Nathan and answered, “Yes, your honour” when she was asked if she had seen the indictment and, “I have, your honour” when asked if she had ample opportunity to review it.

Her lawyers maintain they need months of additional preparation because of the new charges, making it impossible to keep a July 12 trial date.

Prosecutors have said the new charges should not require substantial additional work because they add a single victim to the three already described in the indictment.

The judge didn’t make an immediate decision on a possible new date for the trial, but told lawyers she wants to avoid a long delay.

As Ms Maxwell was led out of court by deputy marshals, she kissed two of her lawyers on the cheek through her mask and waved to two spectators, including her sister.

Ghislaine Maxwell, center, appears in Manhattan Federal court in New York. AP

Epstein and Ms Maxwell accuser Danielle Bensky, a client of high-profile attorney David Boies, sat among several spectators directly behind Ms Maxwell.

“I think it’s incredibly vindicating to see her sit there,” Ms Benksy said outside court. “I do think that it’s hard to do and it’s painful, but it’s good too.”

Ms Bensky's accusations are not part of the indictment.

Outside court, Mr Boies said he hoped to have at least one of over a dozen Epstein accusers he represents at every court hearing involving Ms Maxwell prior to her trial. One of his clients is among the four women whose claims are outlined in the indictment.

“I think it’s important they have access to what’s going on and that the court knows this case is important to them,” he said.

Epstein took his own life at a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 while awaiting a sex-trafficking trial.

Ms Maxwell, 59, has been in custody at a federal lock-up in Brooklyn since her arrest last July at a $1 million New Hampshire estate where her lawyers say she went to live to avoid media attention and to remain safe from threats. Prosecutors, though, say she took steps to hide her whereabouts and movements.

Ms Maxwell has failed three times in her bid to be granted bail, despite offering a $28.5 million package and agreeing to live with electronic monitoring and armed guards who would ensure she does not leave a New York City residence. The US citizen also has offered to give up citizenship in the UK and France. A bail appeal hearing is scheduled next week before the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals.

In court documents, prosecutors say Ms Maxwell recruited at least three teenage girls, including a 14-year-old, between 1994 and 1997 for Epstein to sexually abuse. The superseding indictment says another teenage girl was recruited in the early 2000s, when she was 14. The indictment alleges Ms Maxwell sometimes joined in the abuse.

A lawyer for Ms Maxwell requested the in-person arraignment Friday, citing “media coverage” and a “debacle” that occurred during a remote hearing in a related civil case before another judge, when members of the public clogged up a line provided by the court for people outside the courthouse to listen in.